Daniel Ricciardo has accepted McLaren CEO Zak Brown’s claim that his time at the team has fallen short of expectations.
The Australian has struggled to get up to speed since joining the Woking-based outfit at the start of last year and has been largely outclassed by teammate Lando Norris.
And while of course there was one notable exception last year at Monza, where Ricciardo won, the eight-time Grand Prix winner concedes he needs to do better.
“Well it’s not false,” he said on Friday in Monaco about Brown’s comments. “It’s pretty true and no one’s going to be harder on me than myself.
Also Read:
- Ricciardo unbothered by Horner claim of ‘spectacularly bad’ Red Bull exit timing
- Ricciardo content without an F1 title but feels one year he was ‘the guy to beat’
- McLaren CEO hints Monaco GP among five F1 races that fall short of ‘spectacular’
“Comments I don’t take personally. My skin is tanned, beautiful and also thick. I know that I don’t want to be racing around 10th, 12th places you know, I still believe I can be at the front and belong at the front.
“So it’s been a little bit more certainly testing at times in terms of obviously trying to get up and maximise myself in this car.
“But yeah, we’re working together hard at it, the team wants it. I want it. So yeah, we’re just working through it.”
After what he called a “sad” race in Spain, Ricciardo eyes a “fresh start” in Monaco but also admitted there’s unlikely to be a big chance in his performance.
“There is still more that I would like to be getting out of it, which sometimes I can see and then sometimes it’s less clear,” he admitted. “I think we’ve also had a few things that have not gone let’s say our way and interrupted some of the sessions.
“It’s a combination of a few things, but I think even putting that aside it’s still been a little bit tricky for me to always gel 100% with the car and feel like I can pull out these spectacular laps.
“There’s been some races at times where it’s been good, but still honestly I’m still working on it. I’d love to say that I’m going to be half a second quicker and awesome every race from now, and I’m working to get that. But yeah, it’s still a bit of a process.”
The uptick of pressure on Ricciardo comes as McLaren has made no secret of wanting to see IndyCar drivers Pato O’Ward and Colton Herta get a chance in F1, with Herta set to test later this year.
Initially, it was thought the former Red Bull and Renault driver could find himself out of a seat next season if results don’t improve, but Ricciardo confirmed he does still have one year left on his current deal.
“Yeah, it’s clear,” he said. “I have a contract until the end of 2023. Covid messed me up, so I just get messed up with the years!”
