Ricciardo on the reasons for the failed performance at McLaren

Commenting on his failures at McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo said on the In the Fast Lane podcast that he and the team spent too much time analyzing the reasons for being behind team-mate Lando Norris…

Daniel Riccardo: “I was constantly thinking about why I was behind. Now the season is over and it’s slowly letting go of me, but I’m sure these questions will pop up again one day. I don’t want to say there was a secret in this, but the constant difficulties I experienced were very unusual for me.

Everyone has bad races, but there can’t be as many as me, and to such a level that I sometimes lost a second per lap. I’ve thought about it a lot.

Last year, during the summer holidays, I realized that I was piloting too consciously. Not on reflexes and instincts as before. It is no longer a natural process. I was one step behind and trying to get too much out of myself.

I often remember my first qualifying session at McLaren, when I overtook Lando, although I didn’t know this car at all. I don’t know exactly how many times I got ahead of him after that, but it is clear that this happened extremely rarely. I was able to get ahead of him as I went by sensations and instincts. Not knowing the characteristics of the car, I drove faster.

I don’t blame anyone, but we analyzed too many bad weekends and then got stuck on how to change the style of driving or the settings. This brought us to a dead end at one point.

However, it is far from the fact that if we had not analyzed anything, I would have traveled through Lando. I still don’t understand how to drive this car. And I admit she brought out my weaknesses.

Race weekends are always very busy. With many events you are always in suspense. Everyone has a certain amount of energy – mental, physical, whatever. And if you spend all your mental energy on analysis, by the time you get behind the wheel your brain is already boiling.