Obviously, McLaren has so many employees that it is difficult for them to remember their names. There was an embarrassing moment during the Q2 session for the 2021 French Grand Prix. For the second time this season, poor old Daniel Ricciardo was not called by his real name.
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Apparently, engineer Tom Stallard made a slip and called him ‘Darren’. To be clear, ‘Darren’ is a McLaren racing strategist at the factory. It’s also worth noting that the team has a button that they can use to communicate with the factory.
Stallard must have accidentally pressed this button instead of the radio channel from the box to the car. Another explanation could be that Daniel and Darren sound almost the same. So Stallard must have gotten confused.
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This is not the first time something like this has happened to Daniel Ricciardo
Interestingly, a similar incident occurred at the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix. This time Stallard briefly forgot that Carlos Sainz had stopped driving for the McLaren team.
For his part, the Australian didn’t react and let the mistake slip. In the end, Ricciardo managed to finish 10th fastest, while Lando Norris qualified 8th on the grid.
At least Sainz Jr. would take it calmly and come back. Said said cheekily on the radio: “Hello Tom! It’s Darren. ”He even responded when Stallard accidentally pronounced Sainz’s name instead of Ricciardo.
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Needless to say, the current Ferrari driver thought it was hilarious. The funny thing is that the mix-up first happened on a circuit different from Spain.
Formula 1 F1 – French Grand Prix – Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet, France – June 18, 2021 McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo during practice REUTERS / Yves Herman
To be precise, Stallard’s mistake with Sainz Jr. and Darren came at the 2020 Spanish Grand Prix. As mentioned, the same thing happened at the 2021 Spanish Grand Prix with a twisted irony. Despite all the amusement, Ricciardo and Norris concentrate on the race on Sunday at the Circuit Paul Ricard.
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