F1 News: Daniel Ricciardo Reveals He Doesn't "Want To Get Into" McLaren Habits Again

Daniel Ricciardo's stint with McLaren was full of challenges. Despite its promising start, the Australian driver's three-year tenure with the team was cut short by a year due to compatibility issues with McLaren's Formula 1 vehicle.

Ricciardo faced continuous challenges during his time with McLaren, falling behind his teammate, Lando Norris. This came as a surprise to many, especially given his unexpected victory at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. However, his experience with McLaren's cars left him desiring a change.

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Ricciardo's talents didn’t go unnoticed. Red Bull quickly added him as their third driver during his break. But soon, a fresh opportunity arose. Ricciardo was presented as the early substitute for Nyck de Vries in AlphaTauri, Red Bull's sister team, just before the Hungarian Grand Prix.

His initial experiences with AlphaTauri's AT04 car were promising. While adapting to the new car's nuances remains a challenge, Ricciardo is firm about one thing. He stated to Motorsport.com:

"I don't want to get into that detail ever again."

Reflecting on his time at McLaren, he mentioned:

"I think even through year one at McLaren, at the summer break I learned we were probably going into too much. We needed to change the approach a little bit.

"It was all in everyone's best interests trying to make it work but I felt like I've come to the realisation that wasn't working for me. We still probably did too much in hindsight, but maybe that works for another driver, so it is what it is."

Christian Horner, Red Bull's team chief, noted the stark contrast in Ricciardo's driving style post-McLaren, describing it as "unrecognisable". It highlighted the driver's endeavour to recalibrate his approach, an effort evident in his triumphant run at the Silverstone tyre test.

Returning to the Faenza-based squad, Ricciardo felt more at home, finding the AT04 more in tune with his natural driving rhythm, despite the car's aerodynamic shortcomings. Sharing his first impressions, Ricciardo commented:

"On lap one I already felt like I was getting kind of the feedback that maybe I would expect or like, so that was important.

"Maybe I'll find things that I've just got to work on that don't quite correlate to my feeling, so I expect still some maybe challenges along the way.

"But the first impression was that it did give me a little bit more of a familiar feeling. That was also important because I was hoping to feel something like that."

Though optimistic about the future, he remains candid, recognising that there could be potential challenges ahead. Nonetheless, his initial drive with AlphaTauri reinstated a familiar and much-missed sentiment, sparking hope for a fruitful collaboration ahead.