Ricciardo: “A top 10 would be a small victory”
As the home Grand Prix approaches, Daniel Ricciardo reflected on his chances in Melbourne. While the Australian is pleased with the progress seen in Jeddah, he knows that McLaren is still far from reaching the mark and that the road is long to return to the top of the standings.
Just a few days before the third Grand Prix of the season, Daniel Ricciardo, the Australian driver for McLaren, opened up about the difficulties his team has faced since the start of the season. The MCL36 is in great distress, and the Woking team has only scored six points in the first two races. A very poor result for McLaren, who finished fourth in the constructors’ championship last year.
“When we look at the Melbourne circuit layout, I think it will be smooth and quite fast again, even more so with the changes they have made. So maybe it’s our chance again, and we’ll be able to fight for points. I know we’re not aiming very high, but it’s the best we can aim for at the moment,” admitted Daniel Ricciardo.
Until we make significant improvements, I believe that any place in the top 10 will be a small victory. I attribute the performance in Saudi Arabia to the circuit’s characteristics, so I hope that Bahrain was just a dreadful situation for us.
After Bahrain’s complete failure, where both McLaren drivers finished at the back, facing issues with brake overheating in particular, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was much more convincing. Lando Norris finished seventh and Daniel Ricciardo would have also scored points if it weren’t for a mechanical problem leading to his retirement.
« We sorted out a few details regarding the brakes [in Jeddah], which had been problematic for us in Bahrain. But I really think it’s just the track that suited us well.
» warned Ricciardo. According to him, McLaren will have to wait a while longer before seeing them compete for top positions again.
