Australian F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo switched from Renault to McLaren in 2021. In doing so, hoping he could give the Woking team better results again. Although he briefly achieved that goal by winning the Italian Grand Prix in his first season with the team, it proved to be one of the few highlights. The Australian even now struggles to conclusively explain quite why he struggled at Woking so much, apart from a lack of confidence highlighted by his McLaren cars; the Australian eventually pointed the finger at this factor as the main struggle.

Indeed, his younger teammate Lando Norris managed to consistently both qualify and beat him. As a result, for next season, the Formula 1 driver has been dropped by McLaren, in favour of compatriot Oscar Piastri, an F3 and F2 champion.

Ricciardo explained to the presenter of podcast ‘Beyond The Grid’, Tom Clarkson, what he believes caused his problems at McLaren:

“I think we were struggling on both sides. In terms of the team trying to understand where it was and then how it could be updated and improved. But from my side, I’m also like, ‘OK, I’m not perfect. Of course I have some weaknesses, but this car happens to expose some of them.’”

The Australian further described a general lack of “feel” and “feedback” behind the wheel. In particular, he fell over steering in the corners:

“That’s where it all starts. If you struggle with a corner at the exit, it’s normally the result of what happened…