“It is just a little speed bump” – Daniel Ricciardo hopes to get back to competitiveness going ahead

Daniel Ricciardo hopes that McLaren’s performance in Bahrain GP is just a little speed bump and they get back to competitiveness.

McLaren topped the testing in Barcelona but when the package arrived in Bahrain they began to struggle with the braking issues. Daniel Ricciardo had to miss the testing in Bahrain as he tested positive for Covid-19.

He was given a green flag to return directly to qualifying where he finished the session in 18th place. His teammate Lando Norris did all three days of testing and could only place himself in 13th place in qualifying.

Keep learning, keep working, keep understanding, @DanielRicciardo. 👊 pic.twitter.com/02Gm0B29LF

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) March 21, 2022

Speaking about his absence, Ricciardo said, “it is what it is. Obviously, I missed a bit. But I don’t want it to be the reason why the first half of the season is tricky.”

“But I think, once we get to Saudi next week, we’ll start with a clean slate. Then hopefully be in a better position.”

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A race to forget for Daniel Ricciardo

The Bahrain Grand Prix did not turn out to be an ideal one for both Norris and Ricciardo. The drivers were seen struggling in the lower midfield throughout the race.

The Australian finished 14th in the race and Norris finished 15th. However, Ricciardo downplayed the problems at McLaren and hopes that they will find a solution soon enough.

He said, “It’s tricky, but I think it’s true for everyone. No car is planted. I think we’re just operating at a little bit lower grip than the front row cars, but I think everyone’s fighting, and we’re just trying to extract that little bit more grip and comfort in the car.”

“But it’s still such early days, and I think we’re all still trying to discover how the cars work and how they want to be set up.

“Hopefully this isn’t the trend over the next few races, and [instead] is just a little speed bump in a long season.”

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