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Daniel Ricciardo has revealed he is raring to go, ahead of the new F1 season. The Australian is confident he can deliver for McLaren this time after a tumultuous 2021.
The 32-year-old spoke to the media during the launch of McLaren's 2022 car, the MCL36. Here's what he had to say about the upcoming campaign:
“[It’s the] second year, all the hard work of getting into a new team, learning the team, getting them to understand you... that takes time. I think now, into year two, I know everyone I’m going to be working with. They know me, they know what I like in a car. So it’s basically straight to business and there’s less of the discovery process. I think that fills me with confidence as well, that I’ve got a team around me now that know and trust me, and it’s just fully into the racing stuff, and not really any other noise.”
Daniel Ricciardo's first year with McLaren was abject, to say the least. The Australian scored his first win in over three years with the team at Monza. He was, however, consistently outshone by teammate Lando Norris in both qualifying and races.
Ricciardo ended the 2021 campaign with 115 points to his name. His haul was only good enough for a P8 finish in the drivers' world championship standings.
Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris both gave inputs in development of McLaren MCL36
Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that McLaren's 2022 challenger has input from both him and teammate Lando Norris.
After struggling to adapt to its predecessor in the early part of 2021, Ricciardo is hoping for a more comfortable car in the upcoming season.
The eight-time Grand Prix winner shared his thoughts with the media, where he said:
“There’s definitely some Daniel but I think, in the end, some Lando and Daniel, because, last year, Lando was better equipped with the car, was more comfortable most of the time. But, there were still things in it that, when I would raise [them] he would also be like ‘yeah, actually, I would like to do that too’. The development is, for sure, in both of our favor, or both of our directions.”
Ricciardo and Norris will need to bring the best out of the MCL36 if McLaren are to take the fight to the likes of Mercedes and Red Bull. They will also need to be wary of the threat posed by the likes of Ferrari, Aston Martin, Alpha Tauri and Alpine.
