Daniel Ricciardo returning to F1 was huge news for fans of the sport. However, the way he lost his seat in the first place at McLaren hurt him a lot. Now seemingly in a better place, Ricciardo has something to reveal. According to PlanetF1, the ever-smiling Ricciardo now views McLaren’s horrible tenure with a fresh perspective.
The Honey Badger intended to leave a lasting impression at McLaren after parting ways with Renault in 2020. To some extent, in his debut season, Ricciardo made it possible. The Australian gave McLaren its first victory at Monza in nine years. While the result made him happy, his overall performance was disappointing, especially when compared to Lando Norris.
The Perth-born driver scored only 115 points in 2021, compared to Norris’ 169 points. After that, the second season turned out to be a horror show for Ricciardo. During this time he scored 37 out of a potential 159 points for McLaren. The gap between him and Norris emerged as a key distinction, with the veteran completely getting eclipsed by Norris, who claimed 112 points to Ricciardo’s 37.
Daniel Ricciardo thanks McLaren
After departing Red Bull in 2018, where he had won 7 of his 8 GP races, Daniel Ricciardo struggled. Even though the man in Mclaren enjoyed his time away from the track, it got harder for him to breathe in the Woking-based camp as his performance went on a downward trajectory. In an interview that was cited by Planet F1, Ricciardo explained the terrible time. The 34-year-old revealed how getting fired showed him the “harsh reality.”
Ricciardo, though, asserts that upon looking at it from a different perspective, it was actually a blessing for him. He hasn’t relaxed once in his 11-year-long F1 career. According to Ricciardo, he “needed to step away” from the sport in order to completely recharge his batteries, which ultimately helped him love F1 again.
Daniel, on his last year: “It was a bit of a harsh reality getting fired, but by the end of the season, I was like, ‘Okay, it probably doesn’t help my reputation’, but at that point, I didn’t care anymore. It was a blessing in disguise.
I needed to step away for a bit.” pic.twitter.com/XM7ShfQR3X
— meredith (@mereeedithh) October 2, 2023
As the conversation came to a close, the Australian noted that even if he had stayed back at McLaren, things wouldn’t get better for him. Lastly, all he wants to do is thank team McLaren. He stated, “I guess, in a way, I thank them for making that decision because we were in a bit of a hole, and I’m not sure we could have got out of it.” The two years of poor performance at McLaren had a negative impact on the Honey Badger’s skills. A fact that Christian Horner clearly conveys in his words.
Christian Horner explains Daniel Ricciardo’s bad habits, which he acquired at McLaren
Red Bull rescued Ricciardo as he experienced trouble finding a seat in the F1 paddock. Although he didn’t receive a seat assurance, the Austrian team did have a third driver position available for him. In his explanation of how Ricciardo’s return has proved beneficial for the side team boss Christian Horner used some extremely clever language. He conveys that Ricciardo’s time with the Woking-based has led him to pick up some bad habits.
In an interview with Race, Christian Horner asserted, “I think the problem is when you drive a car that obviously has its limitations, you adapt and you try and adjust to extract the maximum out of that car. And it was clear when he came back, that he picked up some habits that were not… that we didn’t recognize as the Daniel that had left us years earlier.”
Daniel Ricciardo is now on the sidelines because of an unfortunate accident. However, if he continues to make an impression on Red Bull, he might land himself on a seat next to Max Verstappen in 2025.
