‘There was a lot of interference that made it messy,’ Daniel Ricciardo believes Michael Masi was under too much pressure at 2021 Abu Dhabi GP

‘There was a lot of interference that made it messy,’ Daniel Ricciardo believes Michael Masi was under too much pressure at 2021 Abu Dhabi GP

Daniel Ricciardo

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton had put on one of the greatest seasons in the history of the sport. Both the title contenders were involved in several battles and accidents in 2021. The drivers headed into the finale with equal on points, and Max Verstappen came out on top after a series of chaotic events. However, all of this came at cost of controversy, which doesn’t seem to be settling down. And Daniel Ricciardo has recently shared his thoughts behind them.

McLaren’s drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris launched the new MCL36 car in fashion. The MCL36 is McLaren’s weapon for the battles in the 2022 season of F1. Daniel Ricciardo, while speaking at the launch, expressed his opinion on the irregular decisions by Masi and stewards, saying, “I think the one thing was that I feel there is too much pressure on them, to be honest.”

This statement from Ricciardo can explain the inconsistencies in the decisions made by stewards over the weekends. The pressure does get the best of us. Ricciardo believes that the sport has “a lot more exposure now, which is great in some elements, but it probably puts others under pressure who probably aren’t asking for that pressure or aren’t used to it.”

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Ricciardo’s solution to the problem

Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo win at Monza

Daniel Ricciardo strongly believes that the pressure on the officials is a bit too much and intense, and everybody should take a step back.

“It is hard to look back in time and think when was a race director or the stewards or whoever so much in the media. It is quite unique and kind of unknown territory. That was… I don’t know if the word is unfair or what, but I think that was where there was already a bit of a ripple in whatever the situation. It highlighted some of the stuff too much and then put pressure on the next situation more,” said Daniel.

He added, “It already just felt a little bit intense and it felt like everybody should probably take a step back. Obviously, we are all assigned roles and whatever and it is like, well that person is here for a reason, that person is there, let them do it.”

“At times, there was a lot of interference that made it more messy than it should have been. Less interference just in general and let people just get on with it with less pressure and see what the outcome is,” concluded Daniel.

Ricciardo signed for McLaren in 2021 and had an underwhelming start to his season. The driver struggled and was overshadowed by the young Lando Norris. However, Dani did pick up the pace in the second half of the season and went on to win at Monza. With all the drivers starting the new season in new cars, Daniel Ricciardo is expected to adapt early and perform better than the previous season because of his experience.

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