In his first season at McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo struggled to keep up with teammate Lando Norris. Last weekend in Spain, in the fourth race of the season, he managed to beat the British youngster for the first time. In Barcelona he qualified seventh and sixth while Norris finished eighth during the race. Despite this boost, Ricciardo will not get a big head and act complacent.
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He still insisted that there was a lot to learn about the MCL35M. The 31-year-old Australian confessed that his engineers are still training him how to drive the car. So he’ll have to rely on race engineer Tom Stallard to guide him through the season. Stallard has been a godsend, especially teaching Daniel Ricciardo techniques to get the most out of his car.
“It’s like being a beginner again and being taught on every corner!” said Ricciardo. ‘Nice job, do better, okay, improve a little more here. ‘Obviously the feedback I get from the team is good and they are obviously trying to get me into some good habits with this car and the features. “
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What else did Daniel Ricciardo say?
The Australian driver admitted that Barcelona was a familiar area for him. This made it easier to adapt to the challenger. Admittedly, he had never raced Imola or Portimao until last year, so he’s not as familiar with these tracks as he is with Barcelona.
Formula 1 F1 – Emilia Romagna Grand Prix – Autodromo Enzo and Dino Ferrari, Imola, Italy – April 15, 2021 Daniel Ricciardo of McLaren at the FIA press conference FIA / Handout via REUTERS
He continued, “Those kind of longer corners where you are in the corner for a long time and you have to be very sensitive and precise, there is … the car is sensitive and works well in some ways but not well in the others. and i think i’m definitely trying to code myself basically to learn how to go faster.
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“So I’m back to school!”
Right now Ricciardo is returning to another well-known track, Monte Carlo. No doubt he will look forward to it, especially since he won the race in 2018. The street course is a happy hunting ground for the Australian, but it remains to be seen whether he will take on the role of the hunter or the prey in his new coveralls.
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