“You want to make everything worth it”– Daniel Ricciardo tells how he paid McLaren back after sluggish 2021 start

Daniel Ricciardo explains how he paid McLaren back after a disappointing start to his first year with the team in the 2021 F1 season.

Daniel Ricciardo was signed by McLaren with major hopes. Team principal Andreas Seidl wanted the Australian to have an immediate impact with all the experience he had.

However, to everyone’s plight, Ricciardo had a sluggish start with the Woking-based team. Though, the 32-year-old driver improved in his performances later into the season.

“We do get paid well, there’s no mistake,” Ricciardo explained in an exclusive interview with RacingNews365.com. “And when you don’t perform or deliver, of course, part of you feels like, ‘F***’.

“You want to make everything worth it, and you want the team to feel like every cent they’ve spent, they’re getting in return. So I think that’s a simple way to put it but yeah, there is an element of that, there is, for sure. So luckily, Monza I think paid everyone back.”

Also read: Lando Norris claims Daniel Ricciardo’s struggles helped him in 2021

Daniel Ricciardo instilled ‘winning feeling’

Recalling that dark patch, Ricciardo told that he always had a disappointing feeling. But according to him, he managed to pay his team back by giving an amazing performance in Italy.

“I don’t want to say that I don’t need to do it again,” the 32-year-old added. “But it definitely made all the bad days of this year worth it. Do I wish that I had better days in the first six months? Of course.”

“But I think it also proved to the team that not only I still have what it takes to win races, but I can pull myself out of a hole, and I think it gives them faith as well that if I have a few more difficult races again, they’re going to be a little less stressed about it.”

“I know that [they can think], ‘Okay, he has what it takes to deliver. So let’s just be patient.’ And I think they have been. [With team boss] Andreas [Seidl], it’s hard to face anyone in the team that expects more from you.”

“I’m sure he doesn’t mind me saying this, but I never had a tough talk with Andreas. I mean, we had some chats for sure, and there were some real words spoken, but it was never a hostile environment.”

Also read: Daniel Ricciardo claims his integration into McLaren became tricky due to tough COVID-19 protocols

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.

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