McLaren perplexed by Ricciardo's lack of Silverstone pace

"We need to understand," says McLaren's Andreas Seidl, as lack of pace and DRS issue left Daniel Ricciardo struggling at the back of the field on Sunday.

So anonymous was Ricciardo's British Grand Prix, that there must have been times fans were wondering if he'd parked up and begun work on the script for his forthcoming TV series for Hula.

While his teammate, Lando Norris, was hot on the tail of Fernando Alonso as the pair waiting to seize any opportunity that might arise from the Perez/Hamilton/Leclerc thriller, Ricciardo spent the afternoon staring at the rear of Stroll's Aston Martin and finally Latifi's Williams.

"We need to understand why, during the race, we just didn't have any pace for a chance to actually do anything," said Seidl.

"Then, later in the race, in addition we had a DRS issue which obviously then compromised the race further. But independent of that, the race was pretty much done already in the first stint, we just couldn't move forward, which we need to understand together with Daniel."

"Zero pace," sighed the Australian. "A little bit like Barcelona where we just didn't seem to operate at the same level of grip as the cars around me.

"I could just feel it through the tyres as well," he continued, "trying to carry speed. It was just a bit odd, so we have a bit of investigating to do.

"Then we had an issue with DRS which meant I couldn't use it after lap 31 which was also a bit of a shame. Obviously, it's tough to overtake with that as well, but simply we weren't really quick enough anyway... it was a bit of a lonely afternoon."

"So a little bit confused by that at the moment," he admitted. "I mean, it's clear what I felt, but the reasons why, obviously not sure.

"Hopefully we find some answers because it's obviously a quick turnaround till Austria."

"On Lando's side, I think a pretty controlled race," said Seidl. "He was just trying to stay ahead of Fernando because that was our race today.

"Unfortunately we lost the position to Fernando at the final safety car, which cost us then two points in the championship.

"So, overall, the weekend was more encouraging compared to the last two ones because we got back in the fight in terms of pace also with Alpine. We need to simply keep building on that and try to make another step in Austria next weekend."

Of course, talking of scripts, some might suggest that there is more to the continuing issues with the Australian's car than meets the eye.

LATEST NEWS

more news >

LATEST IMAGES

galleries >

Click to go to the main galleries section

READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by BillH, 05/07/2022 19:27

"Something clearly isn't right with the driver / car situation (I'll leave out driver / team for now) as Ricciardo is not the same situation as say a Perez back when the later joined McLaren, experience wise.

Whatever the issue, Ricciardo needs to get confident in the car.

It is a worry when the reason for the poor performance is unknown, particularly with the resources McLaren has at their disposal."

Rating: Positive (2) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

2. Posted by flyinglap, 05/07/2022 17:41

"The evidence of the facts is there for all to see; since he went away from Red Bull, and after earning a few extra tens of millions, Ricciardo has never been the same again. He has had his moment at Monza (although unchallenged by Norris as per team orders) but other than that Norris has totally eclipsed him, be it in qualifying or in the race. Even if the cars (past and present) do not quite suit Ricciardo's personal driving style, he is supposed to be a professional and he should have adapted long ago. Besides, no one asked Norris if the cars do suit his own personal driving style; for all we know he might actually be even faster than he currently manages with a car more to his liking. To make a long story short, Ricciardo is well past his prime, and McLaren should look elsewhere, and the sooner the better."

Rating: Negative (-4) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

3. Posted by Wokingchap, 05/07/2022 13:21

"I wonder if Daniel would feel any better in Lando's car. I expect they tried that ages ago."

Rating: Positive (1) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

4. Posted by kenji, 05/07/2022 10:47

"There is something seriously amiss in all this. As Jenson Button said, 'there's no way that Lando Norris is 1.2 secs a lap faster than Daniel Ricciardo'? This new car for '22 was supposed to be a reset incorporating a change to the previous model which was a very difficult car to drive. Apart from the new and improved design enigma there's the reliability issues to cover as well. This is all very very odd."

Rating: Positive (3) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

5. Posted by Motorsport-fan, 05/07/2022 8:34

"One of the best drivers on the grid and a season and a half in Mclaren still cannot give him a car he can drive to his limits, perplexing indeed."

Rating: Positive (3) Rate comment: Positive | NegativeReport this comment

McLaren perplexed by Ricciardo's lack of Silverstone pace

LATEST NEWS

RELATED ARTICLES

LATEST IMAGES

POST A COMMENT

Post your comment

READERS COMMENTS

Share this page