Daniel Ricciardo F1 FRUSTRATION revealed as McLaren insider makes stunning claim

Daniel Ricciardo

Ricciardo FRUSTRATION revealed as insider makes stunning F1 claim

The Australian driver had an unsuccessful stint at McLaren before losing his place on the grid

Simmey Hannifin Donaldson

Sunday 5 January 2025 21:57

A former ally of Daniel Ricciardo during his McLaren days has made a stunning claim regarding the Australian and one special performance with the team.

Ricciardo joined McLaren ahead of the 2021 season, replacing Carlos Sainz following his departure for Ferrari.

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From the outside looking in it seemed a great move for all parties involved, but it did not work out that way.

Ricciardo really struggled in the papaya car and was often dominated by team-mate Lando Norris. Eventually, McLaren pulled the plug on his time with the team at the end of 2022.

Daniel Ricciardo drove for McLaren in 2021 and 2022

McLaren fired Ricciardo at the end of the 2022 season

Ricciardo's stunning Monza victory

Of course, it was not all bad, and there was one glorious high for the Aussie whilst with the team at Monza in 2021.

That Sunday in Italy, Ricciardo and McLaren put on a stunning display, with Ricciardo winning the race and leading home the team's first one-two since 2012.

That day, and during his time at McLaren, Ricciardo was assisted by race engineer Tom Stallard, who now performs the same duties for Oscar Piastri.

Reflecting on that race in an episode of F1's Beyond the Grid podcast, Stallard claims that the Aussie was faultless that weekend in Italy, making it even more frustrating that things did not work out for himself and the team.

"That weekend in Monza he was pretty faultless," Stallard explained on Beyond the Grid.

Ricciardo's win at Monza was his finest McLaren moment

“Although Max and Lewis ultimately took themselves out in the race, we had them both covered and Daniel would have won anyway so there were some really high peaks.

“It was tough on us as well that, between all of us, we weren’t able to achieve what we wanted to achieve together.”

Ricciardo went on to exit F1 altogether following his exit from McLaren before being drawn back in at AlphaTauri midway through the 2023 campaign.

More recently, in September, Ricciardo lost his seat in the sport once again, with no return yet in sight.