Daniel Ricciardo "positivity" key to McLaren recovery on 'bad days' - Andreas Seidl

Ricciardo completing pre-season testing in Bahrain — Photo: © LAT Images

McLaren

Ricciardo "positivity" key to McLaren recovery on 'bad days' - Seidl

Ricciardo joined McLaren over the winter months

Sam Hall

Saturday 3 April 2021 17:53

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has hailed Daniel Ricciardo as the perfect character to lift the team should it suffer a "bad day".

Ricciardo is one of Formula 1's more colourful personalities although has endured his fair share of disappointment over the years despite winning seven grands prix.

It is how a driver recovers from these moments that divides the good and the great, with Seidl commenting that Ricciardo is exactly the right person to raise morale when misfortune strikes.

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"He has been in Formula 1 for 10 years already," said Seidl. "In addition, he is a great character, a great personality who brings a lot of positivity within the team which is important in this sport.

“It is a team sport, it is a people sport and these heroes of our sport are people everyone looks up to also within the team.

"After a bad day, if the guys in the garage see that there is a guy coming in, a driver, our hero, who is positive and is motivated, it fires everyone up to get going again."

As for the Australian's greatest quality, Seidl added: “The biggest value I see in a race driver is his speed in qualifying and in the race.

“I like a lot everything that I have seen in terms of his speed in qualifying, in the race and in his entire career and that was the reason why I wanted to get him on board."

Over the previous two years, McLaren enjoyed a stable partnership with Lando Norris and Carlos Sainz, and although the Spaniard has now been replaced by Ricciardo, Seidl is convinced he again has an evenly matched pairing.

“That is obviously the target in terms of the driver line up, to have two top guys who are always able to get the maximum out of the car and a race weekend to score good points," said Seidl.

"That was a strength in our team in the last two years. That was a key element in scoring these good positions in the constructors’ championship."