Carlos Sainz was the first of all the drivers who changed teams in 2021 to perform at the expected level. Only five races were enough for the Madrilenian to get on the podium with Ferrari , while Sergio Pérez or Sebastian Vettel had to wait until sixth. The latter, along with Fernando Alonso , already surpass their respective teammates in the World Cup standings after the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. By contrast, Daniel Ricciardo still does not adapt to the McLaren .
While Lando Norris is the only driver who has scored in all races, which makes him fourth in the standings with 66 points, Ricciardo is 10th with 40 points less than his teammate. Everything that Norris is giving to McLaren is not being accompanied by the Australian, which is why the British team has given third place in the Constructors’ World Championship in Baku in favor of Ferrari. At Ferrari , for their part, they are very happy with the arrival of Carlos Sainz to the team to replace Vettel . “ At last we can count on both drivers, ” said Mattia Binotto after the Spaniard’s first race with his new team.
As Fernando Alonso has done, Daniel Ricciardo has asked for time, alluding to the short preseason that has taken place in this atypical 2021. “ When you try to learn or adapt to something in any sport, the best way to do it is by practicing, but the problem with our sport is that we cannot do it every day, ”said the McLaren driver.
Nonetheless, Ricciardo believes that the upcoming triplet will be good for his set-up. “We just can’t take the car and go out for a few laps tomorrow with the car. So I think that having three consecutive weekends and training in such a way will accelerate my progress and adaptation ”, he added. “We have the simulator and those things obviously help, but in the simulator the walls or accidents do not hurt, so it is never the same as real driving ,” concluded the Australian.
Ricciardo, Alonso and the adaptation time
Although the speech of Daniel Ricciardo is similar to that of Fernando Alonso, in the case of the Spaniard it is more clearly needs time to adapt if it is deemed to have been out of Formula 1 two years , “Regarding piloting and results may I found it a bit more difficult than I had anticipated . Not that he assumed the results were going to come automatically. I knew that preparation was needed, hours in the simulator and the tests in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, I expected that, but I am still struggling to make the most of the car’s potential ”, acknowledged the two-time champion. ” I thought that in three or four races I would be one hundred percent and now I think it will take me eight or nine, ” he added.
It was precisely Lando Norris who recently spoke of Daniel Ricciardo’s ability to adapt, highlighting Sainz’s. Asked by his new teammate, he replied: “From what I’ve seen so far, he wants a car that really suits him , maybe a little more. Carlos was good at driving a car that wasn’t always easy to drive , he was very good at it. I guess it’s one of the things I’ve realized now . “
“ Daniel is very fast when he has a car for him and when everything is adapted, but as soon as there are a couple of problems , as most drivers do, he tends to lose some confidence . Then you suffer a little more. I don’t think it just happens to him. It is something that happens more to some pilots than to others. It’s a matter of trust ”, clarified Norris.
The pilots dance between Sainz, Ricciardo and Alonso
Although Daniel Ricciardo was an option for Ferrari , and he recognized it himself, the Italian team ended up opting for Carlos Sainz . This movement took the Australian to McLaren as a replacement for the Madrid, thus opening the door of Renault to Fernando Alonso . Now the Spaniard is building a winning project for Alpine for 2022. It is clear that McLaren misses Carlos Sainz. He may also regret signing Ricciardo in search of immediate results rather than a driver who can make a champion team like Fernando Alonso.
