“He just didn’t seem to have a weakness”: F1 expert explains why Daniel Ricciardo struggled at McLaren

Daniel Ricciardo has had a very torrid time in F1 over the last two years. He spent the majority of his career with Red Bull, where he won seven races. In 2019 he made a move to Renault and earned two podium finishes in two seasons with the Enstone-based outfit. However, it was his McLaren move that really took his career downhill.

A partnership with young talent Lando Norris, at a team poised to make big strides, was seen as huge on paper. Unfortunately, the Aussie massively struggled to adapt to life at Woking and is now set to leave the team despite a year being left on his contract.

Ricciardo’s downfall has surprised the entire F1 community. The 33-year-old was one of the best on the grid during his time with Red Bull, so people wonder why he is struggling so much with McLaren. Formula 1 expert Mark Hughes, explained to The Race that a lot of it has to do with the type of car he got to drive at McLaren over the last two campaigns.

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Why made Daniel Ricciardo so good at Red Bull and Renault?

Hughes feels that Ricciardo’s approach while driving at Red Bull was fairly straightforward. This is because the car had ‘lots of front end’, and a loose rear. This suited the honey badgers style and he was comfortable with the braking.

During his Red Bull stint, the cars he drove gave him a lot of entry momentum and great feel at the outer front. His faster entry speed into corners allowed him to rotate the back of the car on the exits.

Hughes went on to say that even after his move to Renault, he did not have to deal with a poor front end. As soon as the Perth-born driver adapted to the braking, he got up to speed with the French team’s mechanical package.

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Real reason why Ricciardo is struggling at McLaren

Ricciardo’s McLaren stint has led to many people questioning if he’s still good enough for F1. Hughes, however, feels that if Ricciardo has not had a suitable car throughout his time in Woking.

“If he gets back in a car where he doesn’t have to worry about delicately manipulating the weight distribution into the slower corners, there’s no reason why he wouldn’t be back to his best,” Hughes concluded.

Ricciardo will be without an F1 seat for 2023. However, the former Red Bull driver insists that he won’t give up on his dream, and if  a suitable opportunity opens up in 2024, he’ll return.