“There was quite a bit of emotion involved”– Daniel Ricciardo explains the magnitude of the Italian Grand Prix victory, his first since 2018.
Daniel Ricciardo was having a rough year with McLaren so far, but lately, his results started getting better, until it peaked, as the Australian won the Italian Grand Prix most spectacularly.
It was Ricciardo’s first win since 2018, and McLaren’s in ages and the happiness reflected the degree of that achievement, as Ricciardo explains how the win in Monza meant the world to him.
“It felt amazing,” said Ricciardo in an interview with Australian digital lifestyle publication Man of Many. “I think to win in general, it’s obviously a big part of why we do it, but it had been so long for me, it had been so long for the team.
“And it was a new experience for me to win with another team. I’ve only ever won with one team before, so there was quite a bit of emotion involved. There was a lot of fulfilment taken from that.”
Let’s remain humble
Despite the improving results by McLaren, the 32-year-old race driver wants to keep his foot on the ground, as McLaren seeks only progress from here.
“It certainly is a big step, but it doesn’t guarantee anything moving forward,” added Ricciardo. “It doesn’t guarantee more wins or anything, but it should guarantee less of the bad days.
“With the team around me, like my mechanics, my engineers, for them to stay confident and keep the faith, [I] think that was important for all of us as a unit.”
Currently, McLaren is leading the race in the best of the race category, which is the competition for the third place in the constructors’ title, as Red Bull and Mercedes certainly are out of everyone’s league.
Their nearest challenge is Ferrari, who are trailing by 17.5 points against McLaren. Thus, even McLaren has a long way to go for cementing their ideal year result.
