"We also have the chance to create some change" - Daniel Ricciardo claims F1 'is trying to do more' for change in Saudi Arabia

McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo claims F1 is trying to help drive change in Saudi Arabia. The country has been condemned for its low human rights standards despite its high wealth.

F1 returned to Jeddah for the second edition of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. While some were focused on their favorite drivers and teams, many turned their attention to the missile strike, which happened only 10 kilometers away from the circuit. The country was in the headlines earlier in the month for its execution of 81 people in a single day.

In light of the many issues in Saudi Arabia, Daniel Ricciardo was asked if he was aware of the ongoing conflict. The McLaren driver replied saying:

“We are aware of some of the situations when we come here. We are informed, but by coming here we also have the chance to create some change or have some positive influence as opposed to not coming here.”

As per a report by Sky Sports News, F1 drivers such as Ricciardo want more of a say in where the sport races. The report said:

“The drivers want to be more integrated and have more of an input into some of the key decisions they are making within the sport. They want inputs on matters including on where F1 goes to race in the future. This has been on the agenda for some time now. The justification for the drivers wanting more input is that they are the face of the sport these days than they were five to ten years ago because F1 has much more embraced social media and digital platforms.”

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McLaren apologizes to Daniel Ricciardo for not giving him a good car in Saudi Arabia

Daniel Ricciardo ran a good race in Jeddah and was en route to scoring his first points of the season before his McLaren completely shut down and ended his outing.

The team's boss Andreas Seidl later apologized to the Australian for not giving him the package that he 'deserves'. Seidl said of Ricciardo's stint in Jeddah:

“Obviously, we can only apologise to Daniel [Ricciardo] that we didn’t give him the material that he deserves to have because from his side I think it was a strong weekend. With the strategy we chose with him, to offset him a bit from everyone else after he was stuck in the early stint, I think it would have paid off and I think he could have finished right where Lando [Norris] finished.”

Meanwhile, teammate Lando Norris scored his first points of the season, finishing in P7 after an excellent comeback drive. McLaren's future this season looks uncertain as the team has unexpectedly dropped to the bottom of the grid after finishing fourth in 2021's standings.