Ricciardo's problem isn't with the car

The start of the season is not going as planned for Daniel Ricciardo. The former Red Bull Racing driver is behind new teammate Lando Norris during the races. In the Monaco GP the frustration came out.

The Australian is known to be a big Monaco enthusiast. He previously achieved two pole positions and a win here in 2018. Unfortunately, the last race in Monaco was not a success for him. He finished in 12th place, while teammate Lando Norris was on the podium. "The context is that Ricciardo is a multiple race winner and one of the most experienced drivers on the grid, but he doesn't understand why he's struggling so much in the MCL35M. And his confusion boiled over for a moment in Monaco as the size of the gap caught him off guard," says Scott Mitchell in his column for The Race.

After the Monaco GP, Ricciardo suggested that there might be something wrong with the car. "But if it's not a car problem - which McLaren strongly suggested it's not and Ricciardo is prepared to accept that - then the alarm bells are really ringing. It eliminates the only real external variable, as the two drivers also use almost identical car settings," Mitchell writes. "That's the real concern - not knowing why he can't drive the way the McLaren should be driven. It's clearly one thing for the data to indicate 'Norris brakes here, goes in here and carries that much speed through the corner' and another thing for Ricciardo to be able to put that into practice."

Basically, it comes down to Ricciardo having to get very used to the McLaren and it's taking longer than he'd really like. According to Mitchell, it could be a result of the shortened test days.