McLaren will help Ricciardo better understand his car

The transition from Renault to McLaren is complex for Daniel Ricciardo, who can’t seem to extract the performance from his car. The Australian driver appeared to be on the right track after the Spanish Grand Prix where he outperformed his teammate, Lando Norris, in both qualifying and the race, securing sixth place. However, it was a very disappointing weekend in Monaco for Ricciardo. The Australian seems to be out of solutions. He only managed to qualify in twelfth place and maintained that position at the end of the race.

However, McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl stated that the telemetry data had allowed them to identify issues that will help their Australian driver in the future.

« I think that this track simply highlights even more the difficulties he always has with our car and looking at the data, we have a clear idea of what the problem is,” explained Seidl.

« Our car simply needs to be driven in a certain way to extract the maximum performance. Lando [Editor’s note Norris] is obviously used to it and manages it. But it doesn’t seem natural for Daniel, with all he has driven in the past. It is simply important to stay calm, even after a disappointing result like today, to continue working together as one team, to keep analyzing the data, to keep learning from them. »

« We have a clear idea of what the problem is »

The Woking team is putting everything in place to put their drivers in optimal conditions. Noticing Ricciardo’s current difficulties, the team is trying to provide him with what he needs, while also adapting to his driving.

« And then we have, let’s say, two actions in place, which are to try with Daniel to recalibrate him to a certain extent in order to adjust his driving style for our car. But of course, we are also looking at the team to see if we can adjust the car so that it is more natural for him to drive fast so that he has less to think about, without compromising overall performance. »

5 to 6 tenths of a second delay per lap in Monaco

At the end of the Monaco Grand Prix qualifications, Ricciardo said he was puzzled by the big gap with his teammate Lando Norris. He added that he was going to ask if there were other factors at play beyond adjusting his driving style. Seidl stated that these comments should be put into context, the driver reacting directly after getting out of his car, with a lot of frustration.

One of the reasons I love this sport and why you love this sport is because it is a human sport and we love the emotions of team members or drivers after good or bad sessions,” Seidl added.

« And that’s why I think you should also put Daniel’s quotes into context after the qualifications. As I mentioned earlier, when we look at the data, we have a clear idea of why Daniel was unable to set a time in Q2 to advance to Q3. »

Daniel Ricciardo also seems to have noticed possible improvements through telemetry, but remains aware of the difficulty of making these adjustments.

There are differences, some are visible, I see them and I tell myself: “OK, it would help to do that in this corner”, Ricciardo said on Saturday evening.

« I think the challenge is to execute this and improve it in a way, so it’s something I have to keep working on. I think for now, this track probably underlines the fact that it’s not so natural for me. So it’s personal, I’m still trying to recalibrate in my brain and in my style.