Ricciardo confident: "Give me a winning car, and I will win"
General
- GPblog.com
Daniel Ricciardo still has full confidence in himself. The Australian came over with high expectations at the beginning of 2021 from the then Renault, but in the past year and a half he has not been able to meet those expectations. The McLaren car is difficult to drive for the 33-year-old driver.
"Give me a winning car, and I’ll win," Ricciardo is adamant in an interview with Ted Kravitz at Sky Sports. “I don’t feel I’ve ever left a win on the table. But that’s the challenge that lies ahead of us, with myself and with the team at McLaren."
He continued, "Yeah, that’s the confidence I have in myself and that’s ultimately why I still wake up wanting to do it.” Together with his employer, he tries to take steps forward every weekend, but for now the steps are not as big as everyone would like.
McLaren had hoped at the start of the season that the new regulations would allow them to catch up with the likes of Red Bull Racing and Ferrari, but nothing could be further from the truth. The team is fighting with Alpine for fourth place among the constructors. Currently, the gap to the French competitor is four points.
Ricciardo on his own statement
Ricciardo has been linked with an early departure from McLaren in the past month due to his disappointing performance. He collected no less than 51 points from teammate Lando Norris. Ricciardo would possibly make the switch to IndyCar, but in a statement on Instagram he announced that he is not ready yet in the premier class of motorsport.
Why did Ricciardo feel the urge to respond to the rumours? "I know what I’ve got, I know my future. I know my contract. People obviously created questions and their own answers. So it was just setting it straight. Also people that support me it’s like letting them know that still means a lot to me," he concludes.