"I just gave an honest answer" - McLaren's Zak Brown on his comments about Daniel Ricciardo's future with the F1 team

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has reiterated that his comments about Daniel Ricciardo during an interview late last month were just his honest opinion.

Despite the negative press that arose from the comments, Brown felt that the comments explained the current situation within McLaren. Speaking ahead of the Canadian GP, he said:

“I was asked a question and I just gave an honest answer. I think Daniel [Ricciardo] has said the same thing. We’re here to try and get towards the front. We’ve had some awesome weekends, like Monza, and then some disappointing weekends.”

During an interview with Sky Sports ahead of the Monaco GP, Zak Brown had expressed his disappointment at the Australian driver's continued lack of competitiveness. Claiming that Lando Norris “definitely has an edge” over Ricciardo, Brown felt that McLaren lacked a healthy intra-team rivalry.

Ricciardo later commented that he felt Brown’s comments were justified, saying that he knew he had to up his performances.

Meanwhile, Zak Brown has stanchly stood behind Daniel Ricciardo despite his comments. The American believes that Riccardo “has what it takes” to perform at the highest level but felt that he just needed to adjust to the difficult car. Furthermore, he feels that the team also needs to take responsibility and provide its drivers with a better car to compete at the front of the grid.

Brown said:

“Coming back to our car, I don’t think we’re yet giving our drivers a car that’s capable of being at the front on a regular basis.”

He added:

“I think last year in Monza, when we had a strong race car, we could see what Daniel and Lando could do with it. So, I think we need to focus on giving our drivers better race cars. So, we need to do that.”

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Relationship with Daniel Ricciardo “never better”, claims McLaren boss

McLaren CEO Zak Brown claimed that his relationship with Daniel Ricciardo has never been better despite his recent comments about the latter’s performance generating a lot of negative press.

Speaking ahead of the Canadian GP, Brown said:

“We have a great, great relationship. We had dinner a couple of weeks ago in London, we have good laughs together and enjoy racing together so the relationship with Daniel's never been better.”

Despite the ever-increasing pressure to perform, Daniel Ricciardo hasn’t lost his signature smile. He has refused to let himself be beaten down by paddock chatter and has instead focussed on improving his on-track performances.