Daniel Ricciardo can't really speak positive about the way things are going in 2022 just yet. The McLaren MCL36 is underperforming and the Australian himself has not yet scored a point. Despite that, he is looking forward to his first race in front of his home crowd since 2019.
McLaren makes progress
Ricciardo reveals that he flew to his hometown of Perth immediately after the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix. "I feel rested, prepared and excited to get stuck into one of my favourite weekends of the year." Albert Park has undergone major changes for the 2022 season, with the help of Ricciardo and others. He is looking forward to trying out the new layout for himself.
In the previous race weekend in Saudi Arabia, Ricciardo did not make it to the finish line due to a technical problem, but the Aussie says he is happy with the progress McLaren is making. "It was encouraging to see how the team’s hard work is starting to pay off bit by bit." Ricciardo says he already feels a lot more comfortable in the car.
No luck yet in home race
Although Ricciardo says the Australian GP is one of his favorite races of the year, the home hero has yet to have much luck in Melbourne. His best results are two fourth-place finishes he achieved in 2016 and 2018 with Red Bull Racing. In 2014, Ricciardo did get on the podium, but his second place was taken away from him. His fuel consumption was too high and therefore he was disqualified.
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It's gone under the radar so far this year but he's driving well again.
I really think McLaren are listening to Danny about their car's braking finally after stubbornly not addressing it for years. Last season they had a good car, but only at some tracks that suited it. At others it disappeared. That's not a formula for designing a WCC winning car. I think they will go through some pain, but it will be worth it and I think we will see a much more comfortable and improved Daniel this year. I wish him luck, this weekend especially.