Andreas Seidl spoke about Daniel Ricciardo not being “comfortable in the car,” which led to his poor performance at the Autodrome Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit.
The Australian F1 driver failed to make a mark at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, whereas his teammate Lando Norris finished at P3 on the podium. Therefore, Ricciardo is under the pressure to prove his worth at his new F1 stable.
Third-placed Lando Norris of McLaren F1 celebrates on the podium with sparkling wine during the F1 Grand Prix of Emilia Romagna at Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari on April 18, 2021, in Imola, Italy.
Ricciardo still couldn’t bring out his full potential with McLaren in 2021. Therefore, Team Principal Seidl reported the driver is talented, but he still hasn’t adapted to the changes. Thus it might take a few more races for him to showcase his full potential.
Talking in an interview, the McLaren boss said, “It was not an easy race for him because he did not feel that comfortable in the car compared to Lando all weekend to drive the car at the limit.”
Seidl acknowledges the Honey Badger and praised him for his run at Imola. The German boss further asserted his feeling for Ricciardo’s Imola performance, “Daniel drove a great race, and still scoring points despite the struggles he is still having with our car at the moment – scoring a very important P6 for us. So very happy with that.”
What’s up for Daniel Ricciardo?
Daniel Ricciardo now stands at P7 on the 2021 Drivers Standings with 14 points. Meanwhile, his teammate Norris stands at P3 with 27 points, behind Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and McLaren F1 and Lando Norris of Great Britain and McLaren F1 .
Ricciardo needs to pull up his socks, as the move to McLaren can be the last big move in his career. The Aussie after having a poor time at Renault, joined the Woking base for a more promising future. The Honey Badger still hasn’t got a colossal achievement with his new team. However, only two out of 23 races happened, and got many more races ahead to prove his worth.
During Daniel’s time in Renault, he never got a podium in the first season but his second season was really impressive. The Australian even ranked P5 on the 2020 Driver Standings with 119 points. Therefore, McLaren may grab podiums in the future as Ricciardo signed a three-year contract.
Daniel Ricciardo will again go behind the wheels of McLaren MCL35M at the Autodromo Internacional do Algarve on May 02. We might witness his infamous ‘shoey’ ritual at the Portugal podium.
