• Daniel Ricciardo’s performance so far over 2021 has been less than impressive.
• The driver struggles to get the maximum performance out of his McLaren racing car.
• Ricciardo hopes the 2022 technical overhaul is a reset for him.
• For more auto stories, visit Wheels24
Motorsports magazine editor Mark Hughes believes that if Daniel Ricciardo underperforms at McLaren, he will leave the team independently without being asked to.
In 2021, Ricciardo is struggling to make progress with his McLaren and even the Australian says that every time he takes a step forward he is “two steps” back.
And worst of all, neither he nor McLaren can figure out why. With just 50 points on the board and a best result of P5 at the British Grand Prix, Ricciardo is 63 points behind his teammate Lando Norris in the drivers’ standings.
Daniel Ricciardo
Ricciardo will race, but …
At the moment, it looks like the only upside is that Formula 1 is introducing entirely new cars in the next season, a new slate across the board. Hughes reckons that Ricciardo will be able to fight back, but if that doesn’t happen, the seven-time Grand Prix winner’s high expectations of himself are so high that McLaren won’t have to have the “uncomfortable conversation” about 2023 with him. He’ll do it for you.
Hughes wrote in his latest column for The Race: “He’s signed a long-term McLaren deal and it’s almost unthinkable that he won’t continue next year. Both sides really want this to work and their working relationship is great. The team is full of admiration for the fact that, despite the difficulties, his behavior towards his crew never wavers in his positive attitude. “
READ: F1 Ricciardos 2021 in Numbers: Should the Honey Badger Still Smile?
Hughes continues: “But if there is still no progress for the rest of the year, he will have to see the radical reorganization of regulations next year as his salvation ’22 McLaren proving less unusual in his trains and allowing him to be in the cockpit to express more naturally?
“Because if not, and the hangover of this car remains, it is hard to imagine that one of Ricciardo’s competitive strengths would tolerate a below-average performance by himself.
“In a situation like this, McLaren probably wouldn’t even need the awkward conversation. He could take it away. In the interests of Ricciardo, McLaren and F1, we hope it doesn’t come to that. Everyone wants to” see the real Ricciardo again. “
Daniel Ricciardo
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