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Daniel Ricciardo is ready to return to overtaking domination in the new McLaren MCL36.
New rules, regulations and team development will help him get back on track this season.
Ricciardo revealed, “Hopefully, it increases overtaking. In years past, for sure I’ve still made some moves, but I have not consistently been the guy doing the best moves. In a way it is due to how the cars were at times; they are so fast, you brake so late, and it is so hard to get close to another car – so to pull off moves was just tricky.”
According to Pirelli data, Daniel completed 61 overtakes in 2016. Last year for the top three spots, Sebastian Vettel got 132 overtakes, Fernando Alonso had 128 overtakes, and Kimi Räikkönen made 127 overtakes. Daniel accomplished 112 overtakes. It’s going to take gaining good knowledge and resuming a particular driving style to surpass that level. The new McLaren MCL36 car will assist.
The Australian admitted, “So, now, if this allows us to be closer, to have a little bit more of a braking zone, I hope we have to brake a little bit earlier on these cars and buy ourselves a bit more distance to work with. I think that will promote not only more overtaking but more chance for the big D.R.I. double-C to come back.”
Daniel worked with the Woking based team to provide useful input from his racing experiences which contributed to the 2022 car.
He shared, “I’m not the guy to walk into the room and throw things around and say: ‘this has to change’. I’ll do it productively. From very early on [in 2021], from when I first got in the car, I was relaying information about ‘this is what’s different compared to the Renault, the Red Bull’, so I was already kind of feeding information.”
The more time spent racing, Ricciardo was able to learn and push forward. The free practice sessions and race days are set to be good performances for McLaren. This may be the best driver duos on the track. Racing with Lando Norris is sure to motivate Daniel Ricciardo as well. Last year, Daniel Ricciardo earned eighth with 115 points. Meanwhile, Lando Norris sealed sixth with 160 points in the driver standings. This year, McLaren could be quicker and get on more podiums. Keeping an optimistic spirit and being able to adapt as things progress in the season will be key.
McLaren CEO, Zak Brown stated, “Our Formula 1 team continues to make great progress year-on-year with Andreas Seidl at the helm, and this new era of regulations represents a real opportunity for the team. I’m excited to see Lando and Daniel get behind the wheel of the MCL36 and take it to the competition this year. Lando made great progress in 2021, scoring four podiums, and Daniel’s sensational victory in Monza reminded the team what it feels like to win again. As we head into 2022, we’re looking to build on that progress and further close the gap to the teams at the front.”
The McLaren team will participate at the pre-season session in Barcelona during the weekend of 23-25 February.
Headline Image Credit: McLaren.
