"People know that I can be better" - Daniel Ricciardo feels fans 'believe' in him, which is why there's speculations about his career

Ever since his disastrous weekend at the 2022 F1 Monaco Grand Prix, speculation surrounding Daniel Ricciardo's future at McLaren and in F1 has skyrocketed. The Australian, however, believes it is simply because people have faith that he is capable of more than he is currently achieving.

In the drivers' press conference ahead of the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP, Ricciardo admitted that people "believe" in him and his capabilities, because of which his thirteenth-place in the last race became such a big topic of discussion. He said:

“Well, I guess at the end of the day, people care you know. I think it’s why I’m probably being talked about finishing 13th, because people know that I can be better. And I guess it speaks to my results in the past. And I guess me, as a driver, people believe in me, simply. I also don’t expect an amazing narrative when I cross the line in 13th. But yeah, I like pressure. It’s a good platform to perform on. And it’s also why I signed up to this. I love it. Success after struggle always tastes a little sweeter. So that’s what I look forward to it.”

Ever since joining McLaren ahead of the 2021 F1 season, Daniel Ricciardo has been significantly outperformed by his teammate Lando Norris. He currently stands eleventh in the drivers' standings with a 37-point deficit against the Briton.

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"Full confidence moving ahead" - Daniel Ricciardo claims McLaren has reviewed what went wrong in Monaco

Daniel Ricciardo claimed that McLaren had reviewed everything that went wrong in Monaco, which resulted in a thirteenth-place finish for the eight-time Grand Prix winner. He said that the team had "full confidence" ahead of the race in Baku.

When asked about the team's learnings from the Monaco GP, he said:

“Yeah, reviewing, I think reviewing a race weekend, especially when it’s not, let’s say a good result, you’ll always kind of look back in hindsight and say ‘well, yeah, okay, maybe this or that’. I think we started on the front foot and I think we were kind of in a good place and then it kind of just got a little away from us, where we understood a bit after that, and a few days after the race, you know, I spoke to the team with an analysis and then I was in the factory on Monday and the sim and a few other bits and pieces there as well with the team. So, we’ve definitely done our work and we come into today with a few bits and pieces, which we’re going to explore on the car just to try to get me kind of back in that place. But, yeah, full confidence moving ahead now.”

The Monaco GP is the fifth race out of the seven so far this season, where Daniel Ricciardo has failed to score a championship point.