"Not like I needed a kick up the a**" - Daniel Ricciardo claims he is aware of 'what's good and what isn't' when it comes to his 2022 performances

Daniel Ricciardo has had a rough start to the 2022 F1 season with increasing speculation regarding his future at McLaren. The Aussie, however, claims that he has a good understanding of where he stands in terms of results, what is working for him, and what simply is not.

After a disappointing result outside the top-10 at the 2022 F1 Canadian Grand Prix last weekend, the Aussie spoke in a media interaction, saying:

“We certainly have had some chats. I mean, that sounds too formal. We spend some time together, but really it’s not a once-a-year thing, we’re doing that once every couple of months. It’s also not like I needed a kick up the ass. I know where my results are and I know what’s good and what isn’t. It’s really them just trying to again to see if there’s anything they could do to help.”

The 32-year-old further said:

“I feel like we did have a little breakthrough after Monaco, with the factory on the sim [where] we tried a few things. I think even though our result today wasn’t good, the last couple of weekends have certainly been better and shown more promise.”

Daniel Ricciardo currently stands 13th in the drivers' standings with fifteen points to his name.

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Daniel Ricciardo feels becoming an F1 world champion is not "black and white"

Daniel Ricciardo has always been vocal about his drive to become an F1 world champion but certainly seems to be slowly losing his edge, and with that, his confidence that this life-long dream will come true.

As reported by Crash.net, he emphasized that the infinite variables involved in F1, make it an extremely complicated sport, saying:

“Each year, obviously I believed I was good enough to do it (win a title) and obviously I haven’t done it. There are so many variables in this sport and so many things need to go together. It’s not tennis, it’s not that if I’m hitting the ball better on that day, I’ll win the match. It’s not that black and white.”

He further said:

“It’s probably just a bit of maturity and understanding the sport is so much more complex than just you are being the best driver on that given day. So, it’s knowing there are more things and I’m not the only controller in this game. I’m aware I could feel the best, but it still doesn’t happen. All these kinds of things. So that’s one part, just being realistic with the sport as a whole.”

While McLaren certainly have a less competitive package this year, the 2021 season witnessed a large gap in results and performance between the two drivers.