'It's not wrong', Ricciardo understands Brown's statements about his level

He may have won the Italian Grand Prix last September for his first season with McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo has not been unanimously unanimous on the Woking side since his arrival in 2021. It must be said that apart from his success at Monza, the Australian has not often been successful with the orange machines.

Regularly beaten by his teammate, eliminated prematurely in qualifying or in the tough race, Daniel Ricciardo is far from the level he was at a few years ago when he was fighting for victories. A situation which pushed Zak Brown to send him a little message in Barcelona.

« We would obviously like to see Daniel much closer to Lando (Norris) and have a good battle between teammates, explained the CEO of McLaren a few days ago. Daniel is not yet comfortable with the car, we are trying everything we can. Once again it was a disappointing weekend (in Barcelona). Apart from his victory at Monza, it generally does not meet his and our expectations. I think all we can do is continue to work hard as a team, keep the communication going, keep pushing and hope that whatever isn't clicking right now will click soon.t. »

Ricciardo aware of his difficulties

Expected by the press on the sidelines of the Monaco Grand Prix this Friday, Daniel Ricciardo did not escape questions concerning Zak Brown's statements. Aware of his difficulties since his transfer from Renault towards McLaren, the Australian was not perturbed by the recent exit of his leader.

« It's not false actually, he admits. I don't take his comment personally. No one will be harder on me than myself. I know I don't want to be around 10th or 12th place. I think I can still be at the forefront. Lately it's been about trying different things so I can maximize opportunities. We all work very hard together. The team wants it, I want it so we keep moving forward."

Dominated by his teammate since the start of the season and not living up to the expectations for which he was recruited, Daniel Ricciardo is not losing hope. The “Honey Badger” (the honey badger, his nickname) keeps his head high as he approaches the 7^e round of the season in Monaco.

« There are things that did not work out to our advantage during different sessionsHe says. It was a series of events that made it happen like this. But even putting that aside, it's still a bit complicated for me to have complete confidence with the car to do the right laps at the right time. There have certainly been races where things have gone well but it is true that it has been a little complicated so far. I continue to work on it. I'd love to say I'll be half a second faster from this race (Monaco). I'm working to get there but it's a long process."

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