Lewis Hamilton feels Daniel Ricciardo should have been given more time at McLaren to build stronger trust with them.
Ricciardo’s McLaren stint has been a nightmare for him. He joined them in 2021 in a move that people thought would turn out to be great for both parties. However, other than his one win in Monza last season, the Aussie has struggled a lot at the Woking outfit.
His young teammate Lando Norris comprehensively outperformed him throughout their time together, and earlier this week, McLaren decided to pull the plug. They announced that Ricciardo wouldn’t be in the team after the remaining nine races of the 2022 campaign.
Many fans and people in the F1 community feel that Ricciardo was treated harshly. Four-time World Champion Sebastian Vettel even stated that McLaren ‘failed to get the best out of him. The latest person to come out and support him is none other than Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton compared his own situation during his early Mercedes days to that of Ricciardo’s.
Lewis Hamilton is sorry to see Daniel Ricciardo leave; he hopes he stays in F1
Hamilton joined Mercedes in 2013 in a move that at the time shocked the world. He was with McLaren, a team that was able to compete for race wins. Meanwhile, Mercedes was a new team and was still finding its way into the sport.
The Brits, however, showed patience, and after just a year, they became World Champions. Today he is a seven-time Title winner and the most successful driver in the sport’s history.
McLaren and Ricciardo’s story is different. The Surrey-based outfit was not competing for wins or Titles but was on an upward trajectory. 2022, on the other hand, took them a step backwards, as the difference between their pace and the top three teams is quite a lot. On top of that, the car did not suit Ricciardo at all, so he could not quite live up to expectations.
Hamilton feels that McLaren should have given him more time to build some trust. “When you do a short deal it takes time to bond with the team,” he said ahead of the Belgian GP.
“And it takes time to build relationships, it’s not something you can do in half a year, or a year. I am incredibly grateful for my journey with my team.”
