Daniel Ricciardo says many people he bumped into gave him positive feedback or encouragement to say he’s still got it post McLaren stint.
The two years at McLaren seemingly broke Ricciardo this much that the Australian admitted to speaking to people in the paddock from whom he got encouragement and positive feedback that he has still got it in him to perform at the highest levels.
Despite keeping a brave face in front of the camera, Ricciardo did have moments of deep frustration during his time at McLaren where nothing worked for him when teammate Lando Norris was flying high and was more consistent than him.
Eventually both McLaren and Ricciardo decided to pull the plug to end the misery, as the Australian ended up on the sidelines for his own good. He re-joined the Red Bull family and the discussions with his previous bosses and simulator time helped him a lot.
He could see that he still has it in him when comparing to the data of Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez. “I wanted to get some answers, just for my own peace of mind,” said Ricciardo. “I would speak to some people in the paddock just in passing even, or you might bump into someone at breakfast at the hotel, and I would get some positive feedback or encouragement in terms of, ‘I’ve seen what people are saying, they think you’ve forgotten how to drive. It’s bullsh*t, you don’t forget how to drive overnight’ and the kind of, ‘don’t lose your confidence, you’ll find your way back if you want it’ – so there’s definitely some positive stuff like that.
“That’s why as soon as I spoke with Helmut and Christian towards the end of 2022, and the thought of just being back in that family and just even having a go on the simulator, having some data with Max again, and then obviously Checo, I was like, ‘okay, even if it’s a simulator, I just kind of want to see if I can still do it and if the car feels the way I want it to feel’.
“I was curious because, as much as the McLaren I felt, obviously, it didn’t suit me, I felt like it was certainly compounded over time with my confidence dropping and getting kind of lower and lower, after obviously taking quite a few punches in the gut. So yeah, a lot of things I wanted to answer,” summed up Ricciardo.
Here’s F1 2023 teams’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-teams-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s F1 2023 drivers’ tier order: https://formularapida.net/f1-2023-drivers-categorised-in-tier-system-for-their-performances/
Here’s Yuki Tsunoda on consistent 2023
Here’s Daniel Ricciardo on getting the love back
Here’s Daniel Ricciardo on not wanting to dictate happiness by non-wins
Here’s Daniel Ricciardo on time off helping him
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