“Just a massive ball of potential”- Daniel Ricciardo explains why he joined McLaren

“Just a massive ball of potential”- Daniel Ricciardo explains why he joined forces with McLaren as soon as Carlos Sainz signed for Ferrari.

Daniel Ricciardo is one of the most decorated drivers of this era, with multiple podium positions in his name. After a long stint with Red Bull, he chose to go with Renault.

But with little success in this partnership, Ricciardo once again decided to change his allegiance and jumped onto McLaren as soon as Carlos Sainz signed for Ferrari.

Speaking on his inevitable move in 2021, the Australian has reasoned out why he felt a move to McLaren was the right thing to do as he sees a huge potential in the team.

“Obviously because I made the decision before the season started, a lot of the rationale was what McLaren did last year in 2019,” he told Channel 4.

“They made, in my eyes, the biggest step out of any team and I saw them make this big step with relatively young drivers. It was Lando’s first year and Carlos had been around a bit, but I didn’t really feel like there was a veteran there.

“Everything just felt like it was in the right direction and just a massive ball of potential, and I think they just scratched the surface. So it all seemed exciting – it’s up to me now to dig a bit more into that. I’m excited about that.”

McLaren always remained determined to sign Ricciardo

Back in 2018, when Fernando Alonso called it quits with McLaren, the British team automatically sought to sign Ricciardo, before they approached Carlos Sainz.

Earlier this year, McLaren boss Zak Brown confessed that the management was in love with Ricciardo and wanted him at any cost, that is why they once again went for him this year and fortunately signed him.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

Read More