McLaren disappointed with Ricciardo: 'Both cars need to score points'

Disappointing qualifying

Things did not go to plan for Ricciardo in Austria either. He managed to qualify only thirteenth on Saturday. In the race, the McLaren driver got off to a strong start and immediately managed to move up to ninth place, until an engine problem threw a spanner in the works. "We need to investigate this in detail with our colleagues at Mercedes. As I understand it, it has nothing to do with the temperatures," team principal Andreas Seidl told Auto Motor und Sport.

In the end, Ricciardo finished the race right where he started, in thirteenth place. "I was still ahead of Carlos Sainz at the start, who eventually finished sixth. We could have achieved that," said a disappointed Ricciardo. "I want to forget this race as soon as possible. I think I'll go out into nature and do some walking."

Both cars scoring points

Seidl still seems confident of a turnaround for the Australian driver. "Of course he was very disappointed himself that he couldn't continue the good development of the last races. Like us, he didn't expect to have to fight so much in qualifying. The fact that we are now racing directly on the same track again is perfect for his learning process. There we can check that we have drawn the right conclusions."

With a fifth-place for Norris and sixth and seventh places for the Ferrari drivers, the Italian team ran four points in on McLaren. The two teams are battling for third place in the championship this season, so these could well have been sustainable points. "In the battle we are in, both cars need to score points every weekend," Seidl said, indicating that Ricciardo's performance needs to improve.