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Goes to show how good Carlos is! Ferrari has the best driver lineup for the season
I love Daniel Ricciardo. The Honey Badger from Australia is one of the few F1 drivers on the current grid who has almost no haters. His quirky personality and jokes have made him loved by all. Apart from that, he is a solid driver as well. His days with Redbull Racing whom he left after 2018 were filled with success and some memorable race wins. Even his 2 seasons with Renault after that were consistently good.
However, this year as he’s moved to McLaren, Ricciardo seems to be struggling a lot more than most expected when it comes to getting used to the new car. He’s been way off the pace of his McLaren teammate 21 year old Lando Norris who is currently 4th in the driver standings. Norris is the only driver so far in this year’s season to have consistently scored points in every single race he has driven.
Daniel showed some of his old self behind the wheel at the French GP, making up places with some skilful overtakes but that seemed to be it so far. We are nearly at the halfway mark for the season and he isn’t nowhere near where McLaren would want him to be in terms of scoring points. Especially since their main competitors in the constructors standings , Ferrari have both drivers constantly showing good pace and decent finishes.
Although it’s not entirely sure and not easy to pinpoint what’s going wrong for the Honey Badger, there are some theories. The biggest and the one which makes the most sense is that the McLaren car is very dependent on its rear and not as strong on the front end. Daniel Ricciardo is known as the ‘King Of Late Braking’ and he is simply not able to do that as the McLaren is unable to support his way of driving as the main brakes are on the front end of the car.
Whether it is just that or a confidence issue, the pressure is surely mounting especially with having the most consistent driver of the season as your teammate.
Hope you find your pace, Daniel.