Team principal Zak Brown said earlier this month that the Woking-based team will have no excuses not to be able to fight for the titles until 2024, once all infrastructure – including the new wind tunnel – is in place and working at full capacity .
“What I’m going to say is that by 2024 we will have all of our infrastructure in place, especially the wind tunnel,” Brown said. “I think we won’t have any excuses in the 2024 season.”
McLaren, which has been using Toyota’s wind tunnel in Cologne for almost a decade, announced in 2019 that it wanted to build its own tunnel, although construction – which is expected to take around two years – was delayed by the pandemic.
Ricciardo’s current contract with McLaren runs until 2023, but he believes the team will need a few more years to catch up with the F1 leaders.
“I understand the team is on a great path but now there are still a few hurdles that will likely keep us from fighting for a championship for the next year or two,” said Ricciardo.
“But it’s a bit of a reality now that the wind tunnel is a pretty big piece of the puzzle. It could be the final piece of the puzzle for the team.
“I think if I look at it now, I’m really trying to build on where I am with McLaren over the next few years and then hopefully get myself in the best position for the ’24 season.
“It sounds crazy to talk so far in advance. But yeah, sometimes you have to think that way.”
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL35M
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
Ricciardo joined McLaren from Renault this year but struggled to adapt to the characteristics of the British team’s car and has been overshadowed by teammate Lando Norris so far in 2021.
The 32-year-old realizes that onboarding a new team is a process that takes time and admits that he is handling the situation better as he has matured over the years.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely trying! I want all the glory today! But experience tells me it’s definitely a process, ”he said.
“But I think with age and wisdom and probably maturity comes more serenity than when I was younger, expecting the world of everything and it didn’t happen.
“Then yes, I would probably have had a few tantrums by now and mentally lost it, so to speak.
“So this is where it helps to be here for a while to take a breath, take a step back, go through it and understand that there is a reason things are not going so well right now. I need to find some answers instead of just throwing my hands. ” up and away from it all. “
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The Australian has won seven F1 races – his last win at the 2018 Monaco GP with Red Bull – and admits that after not driving for a top team for almost three years, he has had to adjust his mentality to be fully motivated stay.
“In a way, you have to change a little. I don’t know your mindset, goals and objectives, but you have to come up with different victories in which one win is not always the first place,” he said.
“Looking back at last year, winning at Renault meant the car got on the podium. I knew that being able to do it would give me that satisfaction.
“Ultimately, yes, nothing beats winning and that’s what I signed up for when I was young to do all of this.
“I know you’re only going to win if you’re on this top team, or maybe those four cars a year. If not, you’ll have to set other goals and keep your stock high, your motivation high.”
“It’s probably the only sport in the world that has such a low win rate. I’m referring to a team sport – 50% of the time you win. Where F1, I don’t know, my win rate is probably like 2% or so. It is insane. You can find other ways to enjoy it I guess. “
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