Daniel Ricciardo opens up on the comments made by Zak Brown regarding his F1 future, noting that he spoke to him and wasn’t surprised too.
It has been a worrying time for Ricciardo especially when compared to his teammate Lando Norris, who has managed to eke out more from the car. Certainly McLaren expect a bit more from the Australian, who has struggled at the outset of his McLaren career in 2021 also, even though it all came good towards the season’s end.
But this time around, things appear a little different. While there might be light at the end of the tunnel, it does appear to be a flicker. A contract is in place for 2023 but there is still chatter around his performance and whether he stays on or not.
Team boss Zak Brown made some comments about Norris and Ricciardo, where he noted about the Brit having an edge over the Australian. Post that media comments, the Aussie driver revealed of talks with the American but played down any elaborate talks over the comments made by his boss.
“We’ve spoken,” said Ricciardo. “We’ve had a catch up. But nothing really needed to be kind of elaborated on. I think sometimes I’m guilty of it as well, getting caught up in the media, and not always kind of making total sense of things. I just like to talk. No, the clarity is clear for us moving forward.
“My contracts clear with the team, until the end of next year I’m fully committed. I’ve certainly voiced that. And it’s obviously now just on track to show it and show these moments and these races that I know I’m capable of. And I do truly believe that I have the full support of the team and we want to do it together,” summed up Ricciardo, who was asked to elaborate if he was shocked by the comments made by Brown.
“I wasn’t surprised,” continued Ricciardo. “I don’t know, maybe I’ve become a little bit immune, if that’s the word, to media. I think I’ve been in the sport for so long and I think we actually do more and more as we go through the years. So, I don’t I don’t really take it probably for its full value or worth all the time.
“And I know that some things are taken out of context. So I’m not really one to go into it and read too much and try to understand it. At the end of the day, I guess I know the facts between us and know I have with the team, so yeah, simply I don’t get caught up. So I guess I’m not surprised with anything these days,” summed up Ricciardo.
While Brown has gone public, bottom line is purely and simply, Ricciardo has to up the ante and improve. He still has time to resurrect his season, and some might even say his career. And as it is he is contracted to the Woking outfit until 2023 ends. That can be good or bad for a driver in terms of pressure or even complacency.
“Absolutely not. No. That’s one thing I certainly want to… There is a level of…signing early in a season gives you some comfort, but that comfort shouldn’t be… I’m going to use a word here that I don’t think is [right]… Is it misconstrued? Yes! [Shouldn’t be] misconstrued with complacency. Absolutely not,” stated Ricciardo.
“And it’s as simple as this: my results, I want them to be better, I know they can be better and I want to enjoy that success with the team. So I’m not going to just sit back in 13th and be complacent or happy about that. Not at all,” summed up Ricciardo.
He has the ambition and desire and has been a proven race winner. As well as this, he is not the only driver under some semblance of pressure right now but he has the talent to succeed and keep his seat beyond the stipulated contract.
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