Ricciardo joined McLaren from Renault on a three-year deal starting in 2021, but struggled to get up to speed with the team at first, leaving team-mate Lando Norris to score the majority of its points.
But Ricciardo bounced back after the summer break to score a dominant victory in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, marking McLaren’s first win since Brazil 2012.
Ricciardo had been fighting at the front of the field throughout the weekend, qualifying fifth before finishing the sprint race in third place. He took the lead of the grand prix off the line, and led all but five laps en route to victory, setting the fastest lap while taking the chequered flag.
The performance was followed by a memorable radio message from Ricciardo, who said that he “never left” but just “moved aside for a while”.
Ricciardo explained that his radio message came to him “in the moment”, and was a movie quote that he had previously shared with his previous performance coach, but that it tied in…
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