Daniel Ricciardo: “By far my best weekend of the season”

This Australian Grand Prix was a breath of fresh air for Daniel Ricciardo. Nowhere in Bahrain and forced to retire in Saudi Arabia, the Australian blew in Melbourne. Very happy to race again on his home soil, the Honey Badger (ratel, his nickname) found a smile again this weekend where his MCL36 allowed him to finally show himself competitive.

Qualified in Q3 for the first time this season and since the Sao Paulo Grand Prix last November, Daniel Ricciardo produced a convincing performance in the race to finish in 6th place.^e place thus opening its counter this year.

« I can not complain, he admitted at the microphone of F1TV. It's my best weekend of the season and by far, especially at home. It went well. During the first part of the race we were close to the Mercedes. I figured we'd have some opportunities. I also felt competitive in traffic with good pace. Then as the race progressed, they reminded us that they were faster than us."

When you score your first points of 2022 at your home race! 😁

You did all of us and all of Australia proud this week, Daniel. 🧡#AusGP ???????? pic.twitter.com/2tJ7ukKATG

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) April 10, 2022

Competitive during his first stint, Daniel Ricciardo then experienced a drop in performance when he switched to hard rubber. This then took him away from the Mercedes but did not prevent him from finishing on the outskirts of the Top 5. A godsend for him.

« I didn't feel as good on the hard tires as I did on the mediums at the start of the race. I'm still happy with the result and for the team. This is the best we could hope for. I'm happy to score points at home after four years (he had finished 4^e in 2018). »

Very smiling when returning to McLaren hospitality, the Australian still remains lucid. He knows that the features of Albert Park have helped them but he is well aware that all the problems are not yet resolved.

« This is the reality of the start of the season. We know that the car works well on certain types of turns but not on others, he continues while savoring the day's performance. I don't want to be there saying 'Oh we're going to suffer on this kind of circuit'. We must enjoy the result. If we had been told in Bahrain that we would get this result, we would probably have laughed sarcastically. Let's be positive. » It's up to McLaren to confirm at Imola in a fortnight's time that the very good Australian weekend was not a simple coincidence.

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