“Everyone feels pretty comfortable at McLaren” – Daniel Ricciardo has stated the reasons behind his decision to leave Renault and join McLaren from this season.
McLaren had a disappointing debut season stint with Renault engines in 2018, but improved massively the following two seasons, finishing P4 and P3 respectively. This upturn in form was one of the key reasons Daniel Ricciardo decided to switch to the outfit, as he revealed to the official Formula 1 YouTube channel.
“When I signed the contract, it was really just the step [McLaren] made in 2019. I think they kind of turned heads in the whole paddock and it felt like they’ve gone through those few darker years of trying to sort themselves out to rebuild the team.
“And it felt like in 2019 they really put everything together. It was like okay, they’ve laid everything out all the all the pieces together, it’s now just building and executing for the next few years.”
McLaren pushing for world title in 2022
Ricciardo deserves a world title, and he is looking to win that next season with McLaren. The new regulations coming in are expected to open up the playing field, allowing teams like McLaren and Aston Martin a genuine shot at the top. McLaren had a good start to this season, with Lando Norris and Ricciardo finishing P4 and P7 respectively in Bahrain.
“Obviously, I signed at the beginning of 2020, but during 2020 they showed you a further step. I just think they had the most promise out of the rest. I like what I saw and felt like, yeah, everyone feels pretty comfortable at McLaren. When I say comfortable, don’t mistake that for complacent. We’re ready to get on with it.”
