Daniel Ricciardo has recently opened up on his fall from grace and he partially holds himself responsible for this. Speaking to the media, the Australian driver who once regarded himself as “best in the world” has shared his McLaren woes and what led to the situation he’s in currently.
Ricciardo said if he looks back on the past two years with some perspective, he would do some things differently than he did originally. Maybe he would ask a few more questions and be a little more vehement, the man from Land Down Under added.
Monaco magic 🏆 Nothing like it 😍 https://t.co/7Pl7C0vV9Y pic.twitter.com/Iru0mcnKX1
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing) April 13, 2023
In his two years with McLaren, the Honey Badger expected more than he could actually churn out. The 33-year-old added as per Speedcafe, “For many years I thought I was the best driver in the world.” But it was far from reality on track. Hence, he now has nobody to blame but “partially” him for his downfall.
However, the chapter is closed now and he’s back at his ‘home’ in Milton-Keynes alongside Sergio Perez and his old teammate Max Verstappen. Ricciardo returned to the Austrian team after leaving at the end of the 2018 F1 season.
Ricciardo learned his lesson
The F1 pilot said he learned an important life lesson. Not sure if he was talking about his decision to leave Red Bull in 2018 or deciding to jump ship to McLaren from Renault, but whatever it was, he stated, “I have no regrets looking back. That was the situation and I overcame it.”
Ricciardo who believed himself to be the best driver in the world, also shared that he had ample confidence in himself. He added on his McLaren stint, “I believed whatever happened to me, I would master it.”
📰: Daniel Ricciardo opens up about how his time with McLaren damaged his confidence, but he takes responsibility for his struggles and doesn’t blame the team. He reflects on the past two years and admits he would have done things differently, but has no regrets. Spending time… pic.twitter.com/QSdBWyovLe
— F1 Naija 🇳🇬 (@f1_naija) April 10, 2023
But, it was difficult for him to live up to it and put that into practice at the Woking-based team. The result said it all as he finished behind Lando Norris in both seasons and was massively outperformed by the Briton.
McLaren stint broke Honey Badger’s confidence
Daniel Ricciardo’s confidence has been hit massively at McLaren, he said during an interview with the media. Even though he didn’t name the Papayas directly, his confidence in getting traction at Red Bull was all for him to reveal it.
As per reports, the former Renault driver stated, “Getting back into Red Bull, I felt as well I was certainly a little bit… my confidence was probably not what it used to be as well.”
Why won’t there be a hit in confidence when someone who’s known for winning races, poles, and podiums finds it tough to take himself to Q2 and finishes at the back of the grid?
