The Woking team announced last Wednesday before the Belgian Grand Prix the termination of the contract that linked Daniel Ricciardo with McLaren until the end of the 2023 season. Thus, the Australian will have to say goodbye to the papaya car when the GP race of Abu Dhabi of the present course.
Since joining the British ranks, the Perth driver has had many problems adapting to the car, and only at certain moments did he reach the level of his teammate, Lando Norris. However, the former Red Bull and Renault driver managed an incredible win at Monza last season.
Ricciardo spoke to the media at Spa-Francorchamps after hearing the news of his departure from McLaren, revealing that he spent several months talking to the team to try to improve his performance before the spiral that led to his departure began.
“It wasn’t a random call one day and it was like ‘hey, this is what we’re doing.’ , he indicated. “It was more like ‘what can we do? How can we as a team try to keep this going?'”
“Obviously I tried to give feedback, and explain things that were struggling with the car, so there was a lot of dialogue,” said the Australian. “But I also understood that it was a point of concern, because the results that he was achieving were not at the level that we all thought they could have been.”
“That’s why we talked to fix the problems, even though it was like ‘okay, what now?’, and unfortunately it was at a dead end where we had exhausted most of the things that were available to us at that time. moment,” he continued.
“That’s when they made a decision,” Ricciardo said. “It’s not the best feeling, but I look back and I can hold my head high on what I’ve done to make it work and what I’ve tried.”
“From that point of view I do not tell myself that I was conforming or that I had earned to be there, I am proud of the way we try to do it, but some things that you say are not meant to be fulfilled,” said the still McLaren driver. .
The Australian is determined to continue his Formula 1 career, and said he would be willing to take a sabbatical if it gave him the option of returning with another opportunity.
“Yes, if it made sense,” he explained when that situation was put on the table. “It is the only competition that interests me at this stage of my career, Formula 1 is what I like, and it is where I see myself, if I do something.”
“If the stars don’t align and it doesn’t make sense, that would give me the option to have time off to start over and reassess [the situation], and I’d be willing to do that,” he explained. “I still love this sport, and I think through all of this, I haven’t lost confidence in myself.”
“Sometimes you can’t help but show emotion, but I still like it, and I still want to do it in the right place. I’ve never said I wanted to be a driver to do numbers, I’m here with a purpose,” Ricciardo said.
“So I don’t know what will happen in the future, but if that’s the right thing, this is where I want to be,” concluded the Australian, who will have to find a team to continue present in the highest category of motorsport.
