That was the message that Daniel Ricciardo conveyed over the team radio when he crossed the finish line to the long-awaited eighth career victory in Formula 1 at the Italian Grand Prix.
It was a moment of pure relief and relief for the Australian, who had a difficult first half at McLaren and hadn’t tasted the feeling of winning for over three years, more precisely 1,204 days.
Since Ricciardo was last on the top step of the podium at the 2018 Monaco Grand Prix, his F1 experience has been a roller coaster ride of conflicting emotions.
That was evident in Ricciardo’s voice as he cried out with exultation after becoming the newest surprise Formula 1 winner to end McLaren’s nearly decades-long wait for victory at Monza – the same place where the team had come painfully close to their first victory since 2012 only 12 months earlier.
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“It means everything,” said Ricciardo. “I definitely try not to make or dictate my happiness in life around the sport because it’s been three and a half years since I won races.
“A lot has happened since Monaco in 2018, so we love the sport to be here again at this moment. It’s worth all these shitty days and it’s that simple. “
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The swap from Red Bull to Renault was a move that didn’t work out as hoped for Ricciardo, who only got two podium positions in 38 races. A lack of team progress left Ricciardo in doubt and when the door opened to join McLaren he jumped on it.
Ricciardo got off to a difficult start into 2021 and was broadly outdone by younger teammate Lando Norris as his efforts to find the sweet spot of McLaren’s MCL35M challenger took much longer than expected.
But in Monza Ricciardo showed his best form again and showed his strongest weekend performance since his Red Bull days. He jumped ahead of Norris and Hamilton at the start of the sprint race to qualify for third for Sunday’s Grand Prix and was then promoted to the front row when Valtteri Bottas received an engine penalty.
A rocket start brought Ricciardo to the top ahead of his former teammate Max Verstappen before keeping the Red Bull driver in check during the first stint. While a dramatic collision that eliminated both Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton made his path to victory a little easier, Ricciardo seemed to have things under control nonetheless.
It was a flawless performance from Ricciardo as he drove McLaren’s first 1-2 home since the 2010 Canadian Grand Prix and ended his personal drought. While he was soaking up the festivities, Ricciardo enjoyed the respite he had long been looking for.
“It feels like I don’t know what the word is … it’s comforting to me,” Ricciardo said. “I obviously believe in myself; I think everyone is doing it to get to that point in sport. I’ve certainly been challenged this year and you know the sport is just a tricky one.
“It’s not that black and white, I think, and sometimes you have a hard time finding answers, but I think you have to… stick to the course and it’s easy to get lost.
“I think deep down inside I would have moments of frustration or moments when I would bow my head, but I’ve made it my mission never to let that happen.
“I think these things definitely make you appreciate the good days, but also make you understand some inner questions in yourself and how much you want it and how much it means to you.”
Amid his troubles on the track this year, Ricciardo has not been able to visit family and friends in his native Australia since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic due to strict travel rules.
Ricciardo admitted that there have been moments when he “fell in love” with F1, but insisted he always knew he had that kind of performance in him.
“For moments you fall in love with the sport, but the clarity you get afterwards lets you see how much you love him and how much you want him,” he said.
“I think that’s the biggest thing about this weekend that I knew I had a chance to fight for a podium and yes, the will prevailed and when the time came I would back off to the limit .
“It’s just wild – there have been lows this year, but deep down I’ve never lost my faith or belief.”
The summer break in August gave Ricciardo time for a much-needed reset, a key factor in his recent change of form, which underscored his resilience and strength of character.
“I think I just had to take a step back, and I think taking a break in August helped,” he said. “I really think that helped get that position this weekend.”
Ricciardo’s Monza win gave his doubters a resounding answer, underscoring exactly why McLaren had acted so quickly to sign him to replace Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz.
“We all don’t know what exactly he did in those three weeks – we probably don’t want to know,” joked McLaren team boss Andreas Seidl.
“Sometimes it is good for him to have a break and a bit of distance after a very intense time in which he has put a lot of energy together with the team and the results have not come about.
“Maybe he needed this break to step back a little, think, and then come back and apply everything we worked out in the first half of the season. Somehow it seemed to work from the first exit in Spa and has proven itself in the course of the triple header. At Zandvoort we struggled with the car’s performance overall.
Seidl added: “Daniel had problems with the integration, got used to our car in the beginning, but there is a reason why we wanted to bring him on board.
“He’s a proven racing driver and one of the best in the sport and it’s great to see now after the break that it’s coming and to pull off a weekend like this, which is of course great for us.”
So is Ricciardo’s breakthrough victory a sign that he has now cracked McLaren’s car?
“Closer, it’s definitely closer,” he said when asked. “I think there is more to come.
“I don’t know if you’ll ever find anything, but that’s obviously the way the sport is. The sport evolves and changes and you try to keep up with it.
“I’ve been feeling better internally since the second half of the season and that doesn’t always have to be reflected in lap times.
“I don’t think all of that has carried over into the stopwatch, but there is certainly a little more comfort and confidence that comes from me. I’m just trying to build on it.
“I think we’ll get tracks that fit, some don’t, but I think there will be a little more consistency in the second half of the season and hopefully more of that kind of result.”
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