“It was a smoother weekend” – Daniel Ricciardo did well in his McLaren to hold off Carlos Sainz and finish P6 at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.
Daniel Ricciardo had his best race in McLaren colours, finishing P6 at the Spanish Grand Prix. Crucially, he beat his ever-impressive teammate Lando Norris for the first time this season. Ricciardo spoke after the race about his impressive race start and successfully holding off the Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
“The start was good and that got me in front of a couple of faster cars and that meant I then had to defend pretty much the whole race.
“With Checo [Perez] I was doing as much as I could for as long as I could and then obviously he got me and then I had Carlos the last quarter of the race or so.
“Obviously, we didn’t have the pace today, but it was nice to at least hold off a faster car and just put a better weekend together. Personally I’m happy, we obviously still have some to find in the car and in myself but it was a smoother weekend and definitely the best one of the year this far.”
Ricciardo getting to grips with MCL35M
The Aussie is driving a Mercedes-powered car for the first time in his F1 career, and as a result, has taken time to adjust to the MCL35M. But he is finally getting to understand it better, and move on from his last year’s drive of Renault R.S.20.
“We did a little bit to the car but it’s really just been about me and adjusting, the way you attack the corner, where you brake, how you brake, when you come on throttle, all these little details, it’s just fine [details].
“So, just figuring that out a bit more, and I think that came with more laps in the car and just a circuit I know back to front.”
