Riccardo: Behind the wheel of McLaren my weaknesses showed

Daniel Riccardo differs from many other racers not only in his special charm, but also in his sincerity in dealing with the press, which not everyone can afford. In an interview with Auto Motor und Sport, he frankly admitted that weaknesses in his professional training emerged during his years of appearances for McLaren.

Question: Changes are coming in your life – aren’t you afraid of this?
Daniel Rickardo: I’m more amused than scared. However, there is still some fear because I have been racing for so long and have never done anything else in my life. On the other hand, it is very curious how I will deal with the time given to me.

I can even just dedicate it to traveling by car. We fly all over the planet, but we see nothing. I want to explore this world a little better. I also want to work on physical fitness. In general, it depends only on me what I will do, but the newfound freedom will bring joy.

Q: Have you ever thought about going into endurance racing as the popularity of the WEC is growing now?
Daniel Rickardo: I might be interested in a race like the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but not the whole series. After all, everything is about the same as in Formula 1, only the cars are different. I need a break, and let it be some kind of journey into the unknown.

There are no concrete plans yet, I just want to do something different and this prospect inspires me. But at the same time I will look for the possibility of returning to Formula 1 in 2024. If such an opportunity arises, I want to prepare myself as well as possible.

You can say I stay with one leg in the paddock. Hanging around all year is not a good idea. After that it is almost impossible to return. It seems to me that when I feel the desire to return to racing, such an opportunity will arise.

Q: Saying goodbye to McLaren was a surprise to you, or were there already suspicions that everything was going here?
Daniel Rickardo: I already had some suspicions. I saw my results, I didn’t like them. By that time, we already had exhausted ideas about what else we could do to change the situation. And even then I was not sure that the contract with the team would be fulfilled to the end. There was a premonition that something was brewing. The results in these two seasons were not good enough and the team started to have more and more doubts.

Question You have done everything possible to realize improvements, including the team. Can you sum it up and say you always had no confidence in a McLaren car?
Daniel Rickardo: Yes, to some extent. But the lack of confidence consists of many different things. In the end, you can only compete in Formula 1 at the highest possible level if you are sure how the car will behave in the next moment, how it will react to your actions.

What happens if I brake five meters too late? If you don’t have an answer to this question before you brake, you will lose confidence in the car at some point.

Such a thing had never happened to me before. I always felt part of the machine and knew how it would react when external conditions changed. If I went out on track earlier in qualifying in a car with fresh tires and low fuel in the tank, I had no doubt that I could brake calmly five meters later. For some reason it wasn’t always that way at McLaren.

Q: Were you surprised that this year the problems remained the same, even though the cars were completely different than in 2021?
Daniel Rickardo: Although the machines are different, the nature of my problem remains the same. The biggest mystery for me is the first qualifying behind the wheel of a McLaren car. Then, in 2021, I was just starting to master this technique, but I was riding a lap faster than Lando. And then I said to myself: “I will trust the machine more and everything will get better along the way.”

But it turned out the other way around, and I still can’t explain it. In the past, if it was necessary to adjust the style of the pilot, it always worked. Unfortunately, this rarely worked out at McLaren, which only added to my bewilderment. It is hard to explain.

In 2020 with Renault I had complete confidence in the car, it did everything I needed. And then that feeling suddenly disappeared.

Question: What explains the fact that the machine still worked sometimes, as in Singapore or Mexico City?
Daniel Rickardo: Lando managed to show consistent results behind the wheel of the MCL36. In my case, the car behaved especially unpredictably. And when I tried too hard, everything flew off the track.

Once I got the feeling that the car was responding as I expected, I was able to handle the task normally. However, I would like to know the answer to this question myself.

Question: Did you already understand in training on Friday how the weekend would go?
Daniel Rickardo: All good weekends with McLaren went well from the first practice. I immediately felt how the machine works.

Q: Did Lando Norris feel the same way?
Daniel Rickardo: Lando was more comfortable behind the wheel. Moreover, when we analyzed the balance of the car, we gave the same estimates. However, the partner not only adapted to the car, but also knew the limits of its capabilities.

Q: Does this compare to 2014, when Sebastian Vettel struggled to drive a Red Bull car, but you didn’t?
Daniel Rickardo: I prefer to compare what happened in 2014 to how last season went for George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. George, a young driver who moved up to the top team, felt inspired and therefore immediately started performing at the same level as his famous partner. The Mercedes is clearly better than the one Russell has driven before.

And Lewis was in the exact opposite situation. That’s how it was with Sebastian and me then.

Q: In 2014, Vettel hated cars with hybrid powertrains. From the side, it seemed that this prejudice was reflected in his psychological state. Is this comparable to your situation at McLaren?
Daniel Rickardo: Of course, the psychological moment also plays a role. I didn’t like the MCL36. But this is normal because I just couldn’t squeeze the speed out of her that I was trying to show. If everything goes well, then everything is fine. And if it’s the other way around, it will only get worse.

In Mexico City I suddenly felt that the car was OK and I enjoyed driving it. And this all happened by itself, of course.

Q: Will the old Daniel Ricciardo be reborn in another car?
Daniel Rickardo: I’ve always considered myself a good racer. But I have to admit that driving the McLaren MCL36 showed some of my weaknesses. I am not perfect. But it helps me to work on myself. Now I have a year to think about these topics and try to eliminate the shortcomings.

As the season progresses, it is extremely difficult to immediately apply what you have learned. Despite all the information at your disposal. You simply have too much to do, you travel from job to job and you don’t have time to look at the situation from the outside.

Sometimes it’s good to step aside for a while, and then when you get out of all that hassle, the realization comes: there’s something wrong with me. Stopping talking for a while will do me good. But after that it will be necessary to find a car that shows what I can do.

Q: When did you find out you were returning to Red Bull Racing?
Daniel Rickardo: Until the end of the season, all I knew was that somehow I was going to stay in Formula 1. I don’t want to go too far away from this championship. But now I will not hide that I am very happy to return to Red Bull as a third driver.

I have fond memories of this team and when I received such a warm invitation from Christian Horner and Helmut Marko, I really appreciated it! I have an important task to help the Formula 1 team better, but at the same time I try to recharge my batteries and organize my thoughts. I can’t wait to get started in the simulator, on tests and even take part in promotions!