Thursday, May 27, 2021
Strangers in the new McLaren team
Ricciardo has no chance in Formula 1
By Emmanuel Schneider
After all, Daniel Ricciardo comes to his new employer McLaren with the mark of seven victories. The Formula 1 racing team is expecting a lot from the Australian – but the Australian cannot meet expectations. The duel with his younger teammate is frustrating for him.
Five races of familiarization time are roughly a guideline before evaluating a driver in the new team, the equivalent of a politician’s 100 days in office. And after the Spanish Grand Prix – the fourth race of the year – Daniel Ricciardo also looked like an increase in performance. Almost as if the Australian had now arrived at McLaren. For the first time, the 31-year-old had left his younger teammate Lando Norris behind. But what followed was not a confirmation of this trend, but a landing on the hard asphalt in the canyons of Monte Carlos.
While Norris suddenly raced onto the podium and was celebrated by the team, Ricciardo finished the race last weekend in twelfth place – no points. The blue flags were probably particularly painful. The F1 veteran was lapped by Norris – maximum penalty in the team duel. Even if team boss Andreas Seidl had declared a duel on equal terms without number one status before the season, it is clear: Norris is currently leading, with 56 points in a strong third place in the drivers’ standings. Ricciardo is beaten in eighth place with 24 points.
The Australian himself has not yet fully figured out the messed up Monaco weekend. “It was a weekend to forget,” said the McLaren driver. “Obviously, I have to learn more than Lando when it comes to the car. It was a very strange race weekend from the start. But I don’t want to over-analyze it either, I’m now looking towards Baku.”
The whole weekend was bad
The weekend in the Principality was not a good star for Ricciardo from the start. Even if he still won outstandingly here in 2018 and despite a defect ahead of Sebastian Vettel. Even on Thursday in the first practice sessions, he didn’t find the pace to keep up. On Saturday in qualifying it was then also in Q2. A full second slower than Norris. Ricciardo analyzed the data showed differences. For example, why Norris was faster in certain corners. “But I’m not sure I can do it.”
And the start also went badly. From twelfth place (but actually eleven because of the Leclerc retirement) he fell back in the first corner, Lance Stroll in the Aston Martin passed, shortly afterwards Kimi Räikkönen in the Alfa Romeo. And in the guard rail maze of Monaco, overtaking is about as easy as juggling on a unicycle. Team boss Seidl was afraid early on: “For him, the race in Monaco was already over after the first corner, when he unfortunately lost two positions. Then there was hardly a chance to fight his way back into the points.”
In addition, Ricciardo has still not grooved himself in the new car. Seidl justified this deficit as follows: “To drive our cars fast at the moment, you need a special driving style that is not natural for Daniel. That is why it is not so easy for him.” The danger is that it will develop into a mental problem. “For Lando Norris the car is running exactly the way he wants it, it gets around every corner,” analyzed RTL reporter Peter Reichert: “And with Riccardo in Monte Carlo I noticed him biting into the steering wheel, trying to do it Pressing the gas pedal through the floor pan to get a few thousandths out. As a driver you will notice at some point: My team-mate is beating me, it’s getting tight and that’s in the back of your head. “
Fair congratulations
Nevertheless, the motto at McLaren is: keep a cool head. “We have to stay calm, keep analyzing and keep learning so that he can adapt further. As you can see, the potential is there,” said Seidl, who also points out the positive aspects of the race. “There were also sections in the race when he had clear ground, where he could show what he can do in Monaco. It is important that we leave the weekend behind us and continue our way in Baku.”
There are now two starting points for Seidl. Ricciardo will continue to try to adapt his driving style to the car. At the same time, the team will see if they can adapt the car in any way so that it feels more “natural” for the driver. Ricciardo didn’t let his positive spirit be spoiled. When he passed Red Bull team boss and ex-boss Christian Horner, he warmly congratulated the “Bulls” on their victory.
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