Andreas Seidl is “not worried” about Ricciardo’s performances

Since his departure from Red Bull at the end of 2018, Daniel Ricciardo has been wandering. After two rather good seasons with Renault without being extraordinary, the Australian signed with McLaren in 2021. His goal has been clear for several seasons: to become world champion. While McLaren’s progress in recent seasons has been remarkable (3rd in 2020, 4th in 2019 and 2021 in the championship), the Woking team is not yet at the level of the best to contend for the title.

Moreover, the MCL36 is experiencing a difficult start to the season and does not seem to be in a position to consistently compete at the top of the standings. But above all, Daniel Ricciardo is unrecognizable since his arrival. The driver with the infectious smile struggled greatly throughout the majority of last season, being soundly beaten by his young teammate Lando Norris. Despite his victory at Monza, Ricciardo has suffered in comparison to his teammate. The race and qualifying ratio stands at 15 to 7 in favor of the British driver over the 22 rounds of the 2021 season.

At the beginning of the season, the Australian seems to be performing slightly better in the races, keeping up with Norris’s pace. Both drivers scored significant points in Melbourne, securing a solid fifth and sixth place. However, Daniel Ricciardo continues to struggle in qualifying (18th in Bahrain, 14th in Jeddah, and 7th in Melbourne), being three times behind his teammate. But according to Andreas Seidl, the team principal of McLaren, there is no reason to worry about the Australian, as his start to the season was disrupted by a Covid contamination.

« From my point of view, Daniel doesn’t need to do more. He already did it last year in the second half of the season, after the initial challenges he had to overcome to adapt to our car and our team. It was simply important to continue working on the foundation that had been built during the winter. It is not surprising that he had a great start with the new car during the preseason tests in Barcelona. », explains Andreas Seidl.

« Furthermore, of course, the Covid prevented him from completing the rest of the tests, and it didn’t help him for the weekend in Bahrain. However, already in Jeddah, he regained his rhythm, so there is no need to worry. For me, it is important to have two strong drivers for the fight we are leading in the constructors’ championship, and we have them. », the German said.

Daniel Ricciardo will have to confirm the improvement seen in the last two Grand Prix this Sunday at Imola. The Australian is currently in eleventh place in the standings with eight points, eight units behind his teammate.