"Calm and chill and level-headed and sensible" - Daniel Ricciardo describes his mindset in preparing for McLaren's long slog

Daniel Ricciardo is coming to terms with the fact that he has an uphill climb back to the front of the pack in F1 after a difficult start to 2022.

The Australian began the season on the back foot after missing pre-season testing in Bahrain due to a positive Covid-19 test. Daniel Ricciardo admitted to treating the season opener in Sakhir as his own testing session after starting in P18 and crossing the line in P14. This was followed by a DNF at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Struggling with a car that clearly lacks downforce in the face of sweeping regulatory changes, Ricciardo was asked if he is ready for a tough road ahead in an interview with motorsport.com. The 32-year-old said:

“Yeah, I think so – and I think you have to mentally. Look, if in two races' time, we're fighting for top five, then okay, we'll take it and that's a bonus.

"But I think mentally to remain, let's say, calm and chill and level-headed and sensible, you need to realize that we're not looking for three or four tenths."

"It's over a second if we want to fight the wins. So, I doubt it's going to come overnight. We have to just be patient. And I think for the wellness of the team, it's important to do that. It’s too early to cause a ruckus.”

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McLaren apologize to Daniel Ricciardo after 2022 F1 Saudi Arabian GP DNF

McLaren boss Andreas Seidl offered his apologies to Daniel Ricciardo after the latter suffered a power failure on track during the 2022 F1 Saudi Arabian GP.

The Honey Badger was having a decent race and could have joined teammate Lando Norris in the points had he not been forced to retire prematurely.

After the race in Jeddah, Seidl had this to say:

“Obviously, we can only apologize to Daniel [Ricciardo] that we didn’t give him the material that he deserves to have because from his side I think it was a strong weekend."

"With the strategy we chose with him, to offset him a bit from everyone else after he was stuck in the early stint, I think it would have paid off and I think he could have finished right where Lando [Norris] finished.”

Ricciardo's next outing will be on home soil at the Albert Park Circuit in Melbourne on April 10. A revamped track promises to provide better racing in conjunction with the next generation of cars.