Ricciardo more confident in McLaren F1 car after “mini breakthrough”

Ricciardo qualified seventh in Saturday’s session at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and overtook his team-mate Lando Norris, who had an interrupted Q3 session, by four tenths.

While Ricciardo managed to start two of the first three Grand Prix in 2021 ahead of Norris, he has so far struggled to get used to his new car, which especially shone on Sundays.

A week after a somewhat disappointing Portuguese GP, in which Ricciardo did not make it to Q2 and finished ninth, the Australian was more at one with the MCL35M in Spain.

Ricciardo stated that setting up McLaren’s new upgrades, which include a slightly redesigned front wing and new floor concept, has helped him gain confidence in Barcelona’s fast corners that he lacked in the first three races of the 2021 season.

In Q3 Ricciardo was the fastest in the first sector, which also includes the high-speed corner 3, which shows that his confidence in the car has grown.

“Probably the set-up that then enabled me to drive better and more confidently,” said Ricciardo when asked what was behind his winnings compared to a cautious Friday.

“The car was tricky yesterday, I just didn’t have a lot of faith in the high-speed stuff, to be honest.

“Well, I think it showed today. I think we were pretty fast in the first sector, I went purple a couple of times.

“As soon as you get on one, you pretty much just jump on the gas and hold on. And so today I certainly had the confidence to hold on to it.

“And we brought some updates with us. And I think basically we improved the setup so that the updates work today. That was probably when we got the pace.”

Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL35M

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

When asked whether he would describe his performance on Saturday as a breakthrough, Ricciardo replied: “There are still a few corners on the track that I can still find [at], so to speak. So it’s a small breakthrough, let’s say that.

“The narrative was for sure that it took some time to get up to speed and I also think Lando rode exceptionally well, so those two factors were a challenge I think.

“It’s certainly a more positive day and when you say that there is still a bit of what could have been because we missed the last run [in Q3]. We have no more time.”