Ricciardo took McLaren’s first win in nearly nine years by winning the Italian Grand Prix at Monza last month, leading home team-mate Lando Norris 2-1.
Norris himself almost won the following race in Sochi two weeks ago, but a late shower of rain put an end to his hopes after failing to switch to intermediate tires in time.
The upturn in McLaren form helped take third place in the constructors’ championship against Ferrari and, after a period of dominance by Red Bull and Mercedes, gave hope for a more open battle at the head of the field.
The team have regularly downplayed their chances of being a constant threat in the fight at the top, and Ricciardo felt that while they had occasionally mixed up this year, their best form still largely depended on the track .
“We were definitely looking for how [fighting Mercedes and Red Bull] certainly more often in the last few weeks, ”said Ricciardo.
“I think Lando has been there most of the year and it looks more promising for me too.
“But if you look at Lando’s breed [in Sochi], the part in the dry was very strong and fought there.
“I think it’s still a little bit dependent on the route for us as a team. I don’t think we’re consistently strong on all tracks, with every track layout we ride on.
“With the ones we’re strong at, we really seem able to make it into the top two teams.”
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL35M
Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl said he broadly agrees with Ricciardo’s assessment and the team remains realistic about its current position in the F1 pecking order.
“I think with the picture we’ve seen so far this year, I would agree that it will be track-specific,” said Seidl.
“This year we have occasionally seen that we were even able to fight for pole position on certain tracks or keep faster cars behind us.
“At the same time, I think that with the development of the car throughout the season and with a better understanding of the team and how we can get even more performance out of the package we have, I think we have made progress on that Car made. ”Performance on all kinds of tracks, as we saw in Hungary, for example.
“But I think we have a realistic idea of where we are right now. At least with the Ferraris, we have everything we can to keep them behind us.
“At the same time, we always want to be there when there are opportunities for podium places.”
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