When he climbed to the top step of Monza’s famous podium in 2021 having just given McLaren their first victory in nine years, how many would believe that 436 days later Daniel Ricciardo would be off the Formula 1 grid entirely?
Ricciardo was supposed to be an upgrade over Carlos Sainz Jnr, who had served McLaren well during his two years with the team. A multiple race winner coming off a strong second season with Renault, Ricciardo was the perfect veteran to pair with young Lando Norris.
But 2021 was nothing like Ricciardo or his team expected. He was hammered by Norris over the year, only managing to salvage some face with his brilliant, out-of-nowhere Monza win. At least he could reset over the off-season and head into a new season in 2022 with a completely new car and a new mentality.
It did not get any better. In fact, by his own admission, Ricciardo’s performance during 2022 left him with the sobering realisation that 2021 may not have been that bad by comparison – especially as he ended the season with an even greater chasm between himself and Norris in the championship standings.
It wasn’t an easy start to the new era of F1 for Ricciardo or McLaren as a team. Covid-19 ended his pre-season early and he headed into the first race weekend in Bahrain with a car that had a low chance of scoring points and a high chance of cooking its brakes. But a rapid turnaround by the team gave Ricciardo the opportunity to put on a show for his home fans in Melbourne, finishing sixth behind Norris after respecting team orders not to challenge him over the final laps.
Then, Imola was the first black mark of the season. While Norris navigated through a tricky race in the wet to take what would be the only podium finish of the year for any midfield team, Ricciardo’s race had been ruined at the first corner. While the stewards elected not to investigate his race-ending clash with Sainz, Ricciardo felt the need to apologise for the turn one collision that effectively ended both their afternoons.
Ricciardo’s season was again being defined by how he was simply unable to match his team mate. Norris fell ill with tonsillitis at Barcelona, but still battled through to score four points in eighth while Ricciardo crossed the line in 12th, 45 seconds behind. He wrecked his car into the Swimming Pool barriers during Friday practice at Monaco, then finished 13th in the race while Norris was ‘best of the rest’…
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