The Australian struggled to get along with teammate Lando Norris for most of the year, especially over a lap in qualifying, which made his life at the races difficult.
While his form improved and winning the Italian Grand Prix was an obvious highlight, Ricciardo finished the season in eighth place with 115 points, 45 behind his teammate and just five ahead of AlphaTauris Pierre Gasly.
“Not great at first, got better, but still with a few drops,” he said when asked about his year by Autosport.
“Definitely happier with the second half. But there are still a few things I have to work on so I’m not that overwhelmed.”
“Let’s say I’ve taken a step but clearly I have to take another one next year to get where I want to be and probably more on Saturdays just to give myself that position on the track for Sunday and myself to keep away from a little more. ” a mess. So I’ll work on that. “
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL35M
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
After finishing a solid fifth place in the last race in Saudi Arabia, Ricciardo ended his season on a disappointing note in Abu Dhabi last weekend. He qualified tenth and finished twelfth.
He restarted on the last lap, immediately behind Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, as the first lapped car in line.
“I think the last week was obviously good and the way the safety car worked has probably helped me more than anyone else. And in Abu Dhabi it turned the other way. This is how it works here.
“I think I finished ninth, then I sat there and felt like I was a little faster than the pace [Esteban] Okon. But it was still difficult to overtake and in the end I probably didn’t have enough pace to get through and that was it.
“And then I think the VSC, Gasly and Fernando [Alonso] could skip us, that upset us, and then we kind of got out of position, then it’s a bit difficult.
“I think we had a bit more pace in clear air, but to be honest, that’s up to me, that happens when you qualify in tenth and I think you are in this park.
“So definitely something I want to improve next year, these Saturdays and Sundays are a little easier for me.”
He added, “Obviously the size of my 12th isn’t that big, the size of the world title and how the safety car did it is a lot bigger so I’m not going to tell you my sad story!”
