Daniel Ricciardo reveals three-year McLaren plan to land Formula 1 title

McLaren launch

Ricciardo reveals three-year McLaren plan to land Formula 1 title

Ricciardo confirms he has three-season contract with the team

Ian Parkes

Monday 15 February 2021 21:00

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed for the first time to signing a three-year contract with McLaren which he claims is "enough time" to become a Formula 1 champion.

When Ricciardo initially signed for McLaren last year just before the season started in July, the team simply confirmed the Australian was on a multi-year deal.

But in breaking with protocol on the day McLaren launched its MCL35M for the year ahead, Ricciardo openly declared some of the details of his deal with the team.

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"I've got nothing to hide - it's three years," stated Ricciardo. "So it's certainly enough time to get this thing going."

Believing the team has moved on considerably from when he first held talks in 2018 with Zak Brown, Ricciardo added: "I feel I'm coming here with a bunch of momentum behind the team.

"I think as well, not only with the results but there's some really good stability in the team, infrastructure.

"When I talked to McLaren a couple of years ago back in 2018, Andreas [Seidl, team principal] wasn't there yet, [technical director] James Key wasn't. There were still quite a few moving parts.

"The results weren't quite there on track yet, they were still trying to figure out their own structure, but I think they've really established that now.

"I'm basically just fitting into the puzzle, as opposed to trying to put it all together.

"I'm certainly feeling good about it and hanging out to drive the car. It all feels pretty right at the moment."

Ricciardo heads into the season with Lando Norris as team-mate, with the 31-year-old predicting an intense battle with a driver 10 years his junior, albeit believing they represent an ideal pairing to push McLaren onward.

"With Lando, we both have a similar approach to the game," assessed Ricciardo. "We love what we do, we enjoy our job and we're not afraid to show that.

"So we have the same approach but also from a bit of a different generation. I've 10 years on Lando, so it creates quite a good combination.

"Off-track, for sure, we'll always be seen to be having a good time, but I do believe the competition on track will be good, it will be fierce, more importantly, driving the team forward.

"And that's something we really want to state amongst ourselves, do the best for the team, and go for it when the lights go out."