"They just expected me to get into the team and kick ass"- Daniel Ricciardo on the expectations that led to his 2021 McLaren F1 struggles

Daniel Ricciardo has had quite a difficult first half of the 2022 F1 season with rising speculation regarding his future at McLaren. He has now revealed that the team set incredibly high expectations for him when he first joined the team back in 2021.

Despite securing a glorious win for McLaren at the Italian GP last year, his significant gap to teammate Lando Norris in average performance and championship points created quite some doubt about his lack of results. Things have only gotten worse for Ricciardo this season, with rumors spreading about his departure from the Woking-based team that has taken a keen interest in Formula 2 champion Oscar Piastri.

Speaking to RACER, the 33-year-old claimed that while he was expected to come to the team guns blazing, the process and adjustments have been slow and tough. He said:

“This time last year there was probably a little more head-scratching from everyone. And I think that’s because… the truth is, I think they just expected me to get into the team and kick ass. So there was probably still some pure head-scratching, like ‘hmmm, what’s happening?’ And that was probably overriding what needs to happen.”

“I’m just speculating, but maybe too much energy was put into the why’s and this and that before it was ‘what do we need to do now to make him feel better?’. But this year, there’s more understanding and they know me now after a year, so I think it’s very clear what I like in a car, and even I’ve found this out.”

Daniel Ricciardo then further elaborated on how his team copes with his performance issues, saying:

“So when I struggle, the team now are like ‘oh, I can see it in the data, this is what Daniel is feeling and he’s proven in the last 18 months this is what he doesn’t like to feel. This is what’s holding him back from pushing the car to the limit, it’s this area here’. So in terms of development, but even things like tools – on the switches, diff and these sorts of things – we are able to play with and there’s a bit more of a clear direction on that. So that’s where I feel like we are more on top of what I need. The path is more clear of how to get there.”

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Lando Norris claims he is "trying to help" Daniel Ricciardo as much as he can

Ever since the latest season of the Netflix series Drive to Survive aired, people have had their doubts about the relationship shared between Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo. The Briton, however, claims that for the benefit of the team, he does everything in his power to help out his struggling teammate.

As reported by the Express, Norris said:

“I’m trying to help him as much as I can. It’s for the benefit of us as a team, to try and beat Alpine at the end of the day. [Ricciardo] sees everything that I see in terms of data and everything.”

“I’m offering more help than what I normally would, let’s say. If we were fighting for a world championship, I’m saying more things than maybe what I would do. That’s what we need for the team, it’s what I want for the team at the minute. So yeah, the opposite of mind games, whatever that is – mind soothing!”

Currently, 57 points separate Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris in the drivers' standings, clearly showing the performance differential between the two.