Daniel Ricciardo F1 News: Tough admission emerges after McLaren FAILURE

Daniel Ricciardo

Tough Ricciardo admission emerges after F1 FAILURE

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

Originally written by Simmey Hannifin Donaldson.

Monday 6 January 2025 00:00

A former McLaren ally of Daniel Ricciardo has revealed it was 'tough' to not be able to help the Australian succeed with the team.

The popular Australian made the switch to McLaren in 2021, having left Renault after two seasons with the British-French outfit.

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Ricciardo had performed well given the car underneath him, and so there was tremendous optimism that he could even be an upgrade on Carlos Sainz, the man he was replacing in the papaya car.

That optimism eventually faded, however, with Ricciardo struggling to perform alongside Lando Norris and eventually getting the boot after two seasons.

Daniel Ricciardo drove for McLaren in 2021 and 2022

McLaren fired Ricciardo at the end of the 2022 season

McLaren Ricciardo frustration

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.

McLaren Lando Norris Daniel Ricciardo Carlos Sainz Monza