Daniel Ricciardo Never Arrived At Mclaren

Let alone Mclaren, will Daniel Ricciardo have a future in Formula 1? The awesome Australian is currently experiencing a low almost no one expected after his star signing at Mclaren from 2021.

As Soumil points out, history has shown that such drastic career lows have often seen great talents bow out of Formula 1 - Damon Hill-Jordan, Juan Pablo Montoya-Mclaren and Jacques Villeneuve-BMW to name a few.

Can Daniel Ricciardo recover?

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In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, @f1statsguru aka Sundaram joins Soumil & Kunal to highlight stats-facts from Ricciardo's journey at Mclaren. As you will hear, it's as though Ricciardo never really arrived at Mclaren in 2021.

After a tough 2021, the expectation was that the rules refresh would work in Ricciardo's favour. However, the Aussie missed vital pre-season testing due to COVID-19 and has scored less than a fourth of his team-mate Lando Norris' points after the first seven races of the season.

Ricciardo's non-performance is not only costing points (and money) to Mclaren but is it also slowing their developmental curve? Amidst Ricciardo's struggles, Zak Brown's public comments come as a surprise. But are they to pressure the Aussie into performing or are they to prepare the media for his sacking? In terms of 'exit clauses', does Ricciardo hold the key to his future or can Mclaren be the first to pull the plug?

Lots to ponder in the months ahead for Daniel Ricciardo, his legion of fans & Mclaren. There's another Australia in Oscar Piastri waiting in the wings as are the two American drivers - Colton Herta & Patricio O'ward. And of course, Pierre Gasly as well.

What do you think will be Daniel Ricciardo's future in Formula 1? Write to us via our Instagram page.

(Season 2022, Episode 32)

Follow our hosts: Sundaram Ramaswami, Soumil Arora and Kunal Shah

Image courtesy: Mclaren / Twitter

**Summary of the Inside Line F1 Podcast Episode on Daniel Ricciardo's Future in Formula 1**

1. **Introduction:**
- Daniel Ricciardo's struggles at McLaren have been a topic of discussion among Formula 1 fans and experts.
- The podcast episode delves into the reasons behind his poor performance and explores potential outcomes for his future in the sport.


2. **Ricciardo's Performance at McLaren:**
- Ricciardo's move to McLaren in 2021 was highly anticipated, but he has failed to live up to expectations.
- He has scored significantly fewer points than his teammate, Lando Norris, and has not been able to adapt to the McLaren car.
- Ricciardo's struggles have cost McLaren points and hindered their development curve.


3. **Potential Factors Contributing to Ricciardo's Struggles:**
- Ricciardo missed pre-season testing due to COVID-19, which may have affected his preparation for the season.
- The new car regulations may not suit Ricciardo's driving style, leading to difficulties in adapting to the McLaren.
- Ricciardo may be feeling pressure due to McLaren's public comments about his performance and the possibility of termination.


4. **Possible Outcomes for Ricciardo's Future:**
- McLaren may decide to terminate Ricciardo's contract early, allowing him to explore opportunities with other teams.
- Ricciardo could potentially move to a team with a car that better suits his driving style.
- Ricciardo may also consider taking a sabbatical from Formula 1 or retiring from the sport altogether.


5. **Past Examples of Drivers Struggling After Team Switches:**
- The podcast highlights several examples of drivers who made high-profile team switches but failed to succeed, such as Damon Hill to Jordan, Jacques Villeneuve to BMW Sauber, and Juan Pablo Montoya to McLaren.
- These examples raise concerns about Ricciardo's future prospects if he is unable to turn his fortunes around at McLaren.


6. **The Impact of Ricciardo's Struggles on McLaren:**
- Ricciardo's poor performance has cost McLaren valuable points and money.
- It has also slowed down the team's developmental progress, as they have had to focus on accommodating Ricciardo's needs rather than solely improving the car.


7. **The Significance of Ricciardo's Brand Value:**
- Ricciardo is a popular driver with a large fan base, particularly in Australia and the United States.
- His departure from Formula 1 would be a significant loss for the sport, as he is one of the most recognizable and marketable drivers on the grid.


8. **Predictions for Ricciardo's Future:**
- The podcast guests offer their predictions for Ricciardo's future, with some believing he will remain at McLaren and try to improve his performance, while others suggest he may leave the team or even retire from Formula 1.


9. **Conclusion:**
- The podcast episode highlights the challenges faced by Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren and explores the potential outcomes for his future in Formula 1.
- The discussion emphasizes the importance of Ricciardo's brand value and the impact his departure would have on the sport.

# Daniel Ricciardo's Uncertain Future in Formula 1: A Comprehensive Podcast Summary

In this episode of the Inside Line F1 Podcast, the hosts (@f1statsguru, Soumil, and Kunal) delve into the concerning decline of Daniel Ricciardo's Formula 1 career, particularly his struggles at McLaren since 2021.

**Ricciardo's McLaren Misfortunes:**

- Ricciardo's struggles at McLaren have been evident since his arrival in 2021, with performances far below expectations.
- The 2022 season, despite rule changes expected to favor Ricciardo's driving style, has seen him score less than a quarter of his teammate Lando Norris' points.
- Ricciardo's poor performances have not only cost McLaren points and money but have also hindered their developmental progress.

**McLaren's Public Statements and Exit Clauses:**

- Zak Brown's recent public comments regarding Ricciardo's performance have raised eyebrows, leaving many to wonder if they are meant to pressure Ricciardo into better results or prepare the media for his potential dismissal.
- The question of who holds the key to Ricciardo's future remains unclear, with both Ricciardo and McLaren having the potential to terminate the partnership.

**Potential Replacements for Ricciardo:**

- Several drivers are waiting in the wings as potential replacements for Ricciardo at McLaren, including Oscar Piastri, Colton Herta, Patricio O'Ward, and Pierre Gasly.
- The acquisition of an American driver, such as Herta or O'Ward, could bring commercial benefits to McLaren, but it should not come at the expense of Ricciardo's career.

**Conclusion:**

Daniel Ricciardo's future in Formula 1 remains uncertain, with his struggles at McLaren raising questions about his ability to continue at the highest level. McLaren's public statements and the presence of potential replacements add further intrigue to the situation. The podcast emphasizes the importance of considering the human aspect of the situation, hoping that commercial success does not come at the cost of Ricciardo's career.

[00:00.000 -> 00:23.160] Well, dear listener, you would be absolutely lying if you said that he did not have a profound
[00:23.160 -> 00:24.160] love for Daniel Ricciaro.
[00:24.160 -> 00:29.140] Let's face it, everyone does. Everyone loves the honey badger and what he does in the world
[00:29.140 -> 00:33.840] of Formula 1. Not just on the track, but off the track. But the focus today is going to
[00:33.840 -> 00:38.100] be on the track because recently we all know he's not been in the peak of form and today
[00:38.100 -> 00:43.480] on the Inside Line F1 podcast and Pizza Podium, this is going to be our bone of contention.
[00:43.480 -> 00:49.520] Has he actually been that bad? And if he has done, what's next? Where does he go? Does McLaren terminate his contract?
[00:49.520 -> 00:54.080] Can they terminate his contract? And we also look to past examples to understand that what the road
[00:54.080 -> 00:59.200] could be ahead for Daniel Ricciardo, and if we can see him in F1 from next year onwards. But
[00:59.200 -> 01:03.440] that's all to come on this episode. Without any further ado, let's actually begin.
[01:05.520 -> 01:09.680] Hey folks, welcome back in. My name is Somal Arora. I'm the host of the Driving Force on
[01:09.680 -> 01:16.080] Disney Plus Hotstar. And today we've luckily got two other co-hosts with us. We've also got firstly,
[01:16.080 -> 01:20.320] Kunal Shah, the former marketing head of the Force India F1 team. And this time recording
[01:20.320 -> 01:25.120] live with us instead of on a segment is F1 stats guru Sundaram who you all know
[01:25.120 -> 01:28.040] and love on all of his social media platforms for providing all these
[01:28.040 -> 01:33.280] wonderful stats but firstly folks welcome how are you doing and how does
[01:33.280 -> 01:36.880] it actually feel to discuss Daniel Ricciardo's poor performance because
[01:36.880 -> 01:41.320] everyone loves him so much I don't think we all deep down want to do this
[01:41.320 -> 01:46.480] yeah it's actually a very tough topic to discuss you know I wish we were
[01:46.480 -> 01:50.160] discussing where else should Daniel Ricciardo go he's our Crone McLaren he
[01:50.160 -> 01:54.240] needs a race-winning car he needs a championship contending car I wish that
[01:54.240 -> 01:58.720] was a discussion that we were having because that's definitely the easier
[01:58.720 -> 02:05.040] discussion to have but this is such a touchy topic because Ricardo, like you said, Samuel,
[02:09.280 -> 02:11.160] you know, much loved by fans, much loved by sponsors, much loved by pretty much everyone.
[02:11.160 -> 02:16.240] I mean, I'm yet to come across a Formula One fan who doesn't like
[02:16.240 -> 02:18.480] or who dislikes Daniel Ricardo.
[02:18.480 -> 02:23.440] And this is why, you know, this topic of what exactly is going to happen
[02:23.440 -> 02:25.840] to Daniel Ricardo is such a tough
[02:25.840 -> 02:27.080] one to talk about.
[02:27.080 -> 02:32.800] And that's why maybe we should just dive straight into stats, because that's the only way you
[02:32.800 -> 02:39.200] can talk about his performance and who better than Mr. F1 stats guru himself to, you know,
[02:39.200 -> 02:40.720] tell us how it's all been going.
[02:40.720 -> 02:43.640] Well, thank you for that introduction.
[02:43.640 -> 02:46.400] Firstly, Samuel, I'm glad to be here. And
[02:46.400 -> 02:52.040] as always, like Kunal mentioned, he's such a likable character that it's very easy to
[02:52.040 -> 02:56.680] oversee his performances, his results. But actually, we're going to dive down to that
[02:56.680 -> 03:01.880] and talk about his numbers. So it's been a terrible season for Daniel Ricardo so far.
[03:01.880 -> 03:06.400] It's been anything but straightforward and it shows that in his
[03:06.400 -> 03:12.000] results and the numbers so far. So he's currently sitting 11th in the Drivers' Championship
[03:12.000 -> 03:18.200] and Lando Norris is 7th with 48 points. But this is Daniel Ricardo's worst start to a
[03:18.200 -> 03:25.320] season since his Toro Rosso days back in 2013. And the difficult thing to swallow
[03:25.320 -> 03:30.280] is that he's just scored points on one occasion this year,
[03:30.280 -> 03:33.560] whereas Lando Norris has scored points five times, one of which
[03:33.560 -> 03:36.440] was a podium at Imola.
[03:36.440 -> 03:39.280] And like we are talking about his lean patch,
[03:39.280 -> 03:41.600] it's more pronounced in the last four races
[03:41.600 -> 03:44.360] because he hasn't scored any points in the last four races,
[03:44.360 -> 03:50.360] which is his worst scoreless streak since his first full season in 2012.
[03:50.360 -> 03:55.060] But one thing that really highlights how his season has been is we have to consider firstly
[03:55.060 -> 04:02.740] his period between 2014 and 2020, when he moved to Red Bull and his last season in Renault.
[04:02.740 -> 04:05.880] So if you look at just the first seven races and the scenario
[04:05.880 -> 04:08.920] after the first seven races, in all those years,
[04:08.920 -> 04:12.800] he had finished, he was ahead of his teammate in terms of points.
[04:12.800 -> 04:17.200] And he was scoring 55% to 65% of the team's points.
[04:17.200 -> 04:18.960] That's not the case in McLaren.
[04:18.960 -> 04:21.880] Last year, he had scored just 30% of the team's points
[04:21.880 -> 04:23.160] after seven races.
[04:23.160 -> 04:25.220] And that's dipped even more further this year with just 18% of the team's points after 7 races and that's dipped even more further
[04:25.220 -> 04:31.860] this year with just 18% of McLaren points. So he's really feeling the pressure this year.
[04:31.860 -> 04:36.700] Yeah, and I initially thought that when he would come to McLaren he would kind of boss
[04:36.700 -> 04:42.020] around with Lando Norris and kind of show him who the real, let's say, A1 Alpha driver
[04:42.020 -> 04:45.440] of the team is. But clearly Kun Kunal something's gone wrong over there because
[04:45.440 -> 04:50.720] these numbers kind of are showing that Ricciardo isn't the same driver anymore. Now we should ask
[04:50.720 -> 04:55.280] the question a bit later about what exactly has gone wrong but clearly this is just the worst
[04:55.280 -> 05:02.400] patch of his career if you don't consider the HRT days. Oh in fact those HRT days were fantastic
[05:02.400 -> 05:11.360] because I remember Daniel Ricciardo actually came in to replace the Indian Racing Hope, Indian Formula One Hope, Naren Karthikeyan back in time, right?
[05:11.360 -> 05:16.400] But you know what you said, Samuel, is so true. We all thought there's Daniel Ricciardo. He's going
[05:16.400 -> 05:24.160] to walk into McLaren and people are going to ask Lando Norris who, right? But actually people are
[05:24.160 -> 05:26.240] asking Lando Norris who with that much
[05:26.240 -> 05:31.440] bit more of a surprising oh my god what on earth is Lando Norris doing you know
[05:31.440 -> 05:35.240] at McLaren and one of the reasons why we're actually talking Daniel Ricciardo
[05:35.240 -> 05:40.480] so early into the season or I'd say probably two reasons right first is you
[05:40.480 -> 05:45.200] know Zac Brown of course went public just in the build-up to the Monaco Grand Prix,
[05:46.400 -> 05:53.520] that he turned around and said, there are mechanisms in our contract to sort of not let
[05:54.960 -> 05:59.600] Daniel have a way to sort of race in 2023. And that suddenly raised questions saying,
[05:59.600 -> 06:04.080] oh my God, what could the team do to drop in? Because there are performance clauses, right?
[06:04.080 -> 06:08.960] And the second reason why, you know, we also thought we should talk about Daniel Ricciardo
[06:08.960 -> 06:15.120] is because Checo Perez is early signing up with Red Bull Racing and a two-year extension, because
[06:15.120 -> 06:29.360] I believe that we'll see some driver silly season movements earlier in the season in 2022 than needing to wait till 2023. But apart from all the stats,
[06:29.360 -> 06:36.320] facts, numbers, and why things are happening, the reality seems like, at least to me, is Daniel
[06:36.320 -> 06:45.340] Ricardo just has failed to arrive at McLaren? We were all waiting patiently in 2021,
[06:45.340 -> 06:46.880] saying, yes, it's going to turn,
[06:46.880 -> 06:48.680] he's going to get used to the car.
[06:48.680 -> 06:50.780] You know, we give him a longer rope
[06:50.780 -> 06:53.000] than we give some of the other drivers, I would say.
[06:53.000 -> 06:55.640] That's just because how emotionally bonded,
[06:55.640 -> 06:57.800] you know, we feel towards him, right?
[06:57.800 -> 06:59.840] So we thought 2021, it's the McLaren,
[06:59.840 -> 07:01.000] let's just give him time.
[07:01.000 -> 07:03.280] And, you know, the rules reset will sort of
[07:04.380 -> 07:06.480] help him recover and gain lost
[07:06.480 -> 07:12.160] ground on Lando Norris and show us who he really is and then of course we had that big blip in 2021
[07:12.160 -> 07:19.440] when he won the Italian Grand Prix on merit right and suddenly was like the most unexpected winner
[07:20.080 -> 07:25.120] of the season right and of, 2022 has been a tough start
[07:25.120 -> 07:27.440] because while we're talking of his performance
[07:27.440 -> 07:30.000] in the first seven races of the season as well,
[07:30.000 -> 07:34.280] let's remember he missed out on pre-season testing
[07:34.280 -> 07:35.800] because of COVID-19.
[07:35.800 -> 07:39.580] So he's probably had the least amount of track time
[07:39.580 -> 07:43.600] than most of the drivers that we're comparing him against.
[07:43.600 -> 07:46.540] And the drivers we are comparing him against
[07:46.540 -> 07:48.500] are the ones who also made a switch of teams,
[07:48.500 -> 07:50.340] switch of power unit manufacturers,
[07:50.340 -> 07:54.340] and so on since last season, guys.
[07:54.340 -> 07:58.140] It's also the fact that there's not much time available
[07:58.140 -> 08:00.900] right now because usually teams want to get
[08:00.900 -> 08:03.140] their driver lineup sorted for 2023
[08:03.140 -> 08:06.480] somewhere around in the mid-season and I think
[08:06.480 -> 08:12.480] Daniel Ricardo has received, has had enough time to acclimatize and get adjusted to the car this
[08:12.480 -> 08:18.800] year as well. He's spoken about this last year a lot where he was not comfortable with the car
[08:18.800 -> 08:23.760] but that's actually kind of extending this year as well and that is costing McLaren dearly
[08:24.480 -> 08:25.800] in terms of points and even
[08:25.800 -> 08:31.080] in terms of position in the Constructors' standings. Last year, there was, because of
[08:31.080 -> 08:38.400] Ricciardo's performances last year, they actually lost fourth in the Constructors' Championship.
[08:38.400 -> 08:42.640] Is that going to happen this year as well? Because Alfa Romeo and Alpine are actually
[08:42.640 -> 08:45.120] catching up pretty quickly in the standings this year.
[08:45.120 -> 08:51.720] Yeah, actually, third rather than fourth because they were fighting for third against Ferrari and
[08:51.720 -> 08:55.520] had Ricciaro done better, that could have been a lot more money coming in the bag. And if you
[08:55.520 -> 09:00.600] consider this year as well, right, it's absurd because Ricciaro currently sits in the bottom
[09:00.600 -> 09:25.360] half of the field. I mean, he's barely got any points. He's in 11th and Naldo Norris right now, in There are going to be contrasting views and thoughts about this, because at the time he wasn't A-lister. But what do you reckon, Kunal?
[09:25.360 -> 09:27.040] Because there's always that risk, right?
[09:27.040 -> 09:28.240] Things can go wrong.
[09:28.240 -> 09:30.800] So from a team's perspective, should they have maybe
[09:30.800 -> 09:33.320] seen this coming in a way?
[09:33.320 -> 09:35.520] Oh, it's very tough to see these things coming,
[09:35.520 -> 09:37.480] because you normally sign drivers
[09:37.480 -> 09:42.280] when they are on the rising part of their career curve, right?
[09:42.280 -> 09:45.440] You almost never sign a driver that's fading off.
[09:45.440 -> 09:47.240] I mean, unless you're Aston Martin
[09:47.240 -> 09:48.560] looking at Sebastian Vettel
[09:48.560 -> 09:50.360] just because he's a four times world champion.
[09:50.360 -> 09:51.960] No, I'm serious.
[09:51.960 -> 09:54.400] We all remember Vettel of the old and the Red Bull days
[09:54.400 -> 09:57.200] and he's no longer that sort of a Vettel time and again.
[09:57.200 -> 09:59.920] But yeah, talking about specifically Ricardo,
[09:59.920 -> 10:01.560] apart from just costing points
[10:01.560 -> 10:03.280] and apart from this whole heartburn
[10:03.280 -> 10:05.760] that he's causing McLaren and all of us,
[10:05.760 -> 10:09.920] there's one more point about his performance that needs to be highlighted as well. So,
[10:10.720 -> 10:17.440] at the pace deficit that he's had and at the amount of time he's needing to settle down
[10:17.440 -> 10:23.600] within the team, even this season, he's also probably not helping a lot with the development
[10:23.600 -> 10:27.500] of the car because instead of focusing on development alone,
[10:27.500 -> 10:30.500] they're still focusing on getting him settled in,
[10:30.500 -> 10:35.000] getting him comfortable so that they are able to extract baseline performance from him.
[10:35.000 -> 10:37.000] And that, again, is also costing him.
[10:37.000 -> 10:42.000] And, you know, eventually how teams always see this is the kind of money the driver costs
[10:42.000 -> 10:46.480] plus the kind of money a driver actually helps them earn
[10:46.480 -> 10:47.800] during the course of a season.
[10:47.800 -> 10:50.000] And that earning is not just sponsors,
[10:50.000 -> 10:53.240] but also sort of on-track earnings.
[10:53.240 -> 10:59.680] Because yes, Ricardo's fandom and Ricardo's popularity
[10:59.680 -> 11:03.360] with sponsors, and he's a very popular driver in America,
[11:03.360 -> 11:08.160] of course, very, very popular in Australia. and all those things sort of help with sponsors right.
[11:08.160 -> 11:26.000] But eventually the metric that you are tested against is your ability to get on track points on track performance and that's what Daniel Ricardo has been lacking. I'm amazed that I'm even going down this whole performance road because I still feel he is an
[11:26.000 -> 11:33.280] absolutely fantastic driver that McLaren needs to back and McLaren needs to help raise the game off.
[11:33.280 -> 11:38.640] And lots of former drivers have said, Formula One's a mental sport, it's a team game, you want
[11:38.640 -> 11:45.760] the team to back you. And maybe one of the things that Ricci Ricardo is also feeling is this whole thing that the
[11:45.760 -> 11:52.480] Norris challenge was a tough one for him to look at in 2021.
[11:52.480 -> 11:58.560] And McLaren have thrown themselves in Norris' favor through the one and a half years that
[11:58.560 -> 12:00.160] he's probably been there.
[12:00.160 -> 12:06.720] So he left Red Bull because he could see, he could sense that they were doing that to Max Verstappen, right?
[12:07.080 -> 12:10.800] He left Renault for various reasons because of McLaren came calling and so on.
[12:10.800 -> 12:14.720] And then now he's suddenly seeing McLaren do that to Lando Norris as well.
[12:15.120 -> 12:19.360] So it could be a lot on emotional grounds what Ricardo's feeling.
[12:19.400 -> 12:24.080] He's feeling like he's no longer the A-lister, the driver that the team would bank on.
[12:24.520 -> 12:25.840] And that's probably the cause of, you know, it's all a mix of things that he's no longer the A-lister, the driver that the team would bank on. And that's probably the cause
[12:25.840 -> 12:32.880] of, you know, it's all a mix of things that he's feeling. I think from McLaren's side also,
[12:32.880 -> 12:39.200] it just seemed right from the team's perspective at the time, because I think Riccardo and McLaren
[12:39.200 -> 12:45.820] have been in talks even somewhere in 2018 or 2019 before his move to Renault but at the
[12:45.820 -> 12:49.860] time like you mentioned he was an A-lister. In 2018 he had quite a few
[12:49.860 -> 12:54.760] unlucky outings with Red Bull. He had retired from eight of the 21 races but
[12:54.760 -> 12:58.900] apart from that he had finished in the top six on every other occasion.
[12:58.900 -> 13:04.620] So he was one of the top drivers to grab at the time and once Sainz moved to
[13:04.620 -> 13:08.300] Ferrari which seems like a very difficult deal to refuse
[13:08.300 -> 13:13.520] I think McLaren just wanted to tie him down for a longer time in terms of stability for the team and
[13:13.960 -> 13:18.840] I think even Riccardo also recognized that this could be my big paycheck
[13:19.640 -> 13:22.980] on offer and I think he gladly took it but the fact is that when you were
[13:23.520 -> 13:28.640] Given that sort of money or when McLaren is paying so much of money, they obviously want a little bit of value
[13:29.040 -> 13:32.740] that comes out of it. You want that return of investment and unfortunately
[13:33.360 -> 13:34.800] that's not happened.
[13:34.800 -> 13:40.480] Why is that the case? It could be a lot of reasons because probably his driving style
[13:40.800 -> 13:44.400] is he's not able to adapt to the car. That's something he's been open about
[13:44.260 -> 13:49.720] style, he's not able to adapt to the car that's something he's been open about and probably the way the car reacts to how his driving style was in Red Bull
[13:49.720 -> 13:54.840] that does not fit, that does not suit the McLaren and that's actually gone on to
[13:54.840 -> 13:59.680] affect other things of him in terms of his approach and probably his mental
[13:59.680 -> 14:03.480] frame of mind as well because if you look at the telemetry data of his and
[14:03.480 -> 14:11.280] Norris' when you compare it in the last two races especially in the high speed corners or even at Monaco it does seem like he
[14:11.280 -> 14:16.880] is a bit tentative and when you're driving the car consciously when you're wondering if the car
[14:16.880 -> 14:22.400] would react to certain high corner high speed corners your bound goes low only when you drive
[14:22.400 -> 14:25.480] it purely on instinct that's when I think
[14:25.480 -> 14:32.200] your car is going to go fast and I think Ricciardo doesn't feel at one with the car at the moment.
[14:32.200 -> 14:35.760] Crazy times for Daniel Ricciardo. Actually, quick break here for 10 seconds, we'll be
[14:35.760 -> 14:41.840] back rather soon. Welcome back to the Inside Line F1 podcast and pitch the podium folks.
[14:41.840 -> 14:49.200] We were on the subject of Daniel Ricciardo and how his move to McLaren isn't quite working out. I suppose Kunal what makes it even more tricky
[14:49.760 -> 14:55.760] is the fact that Ricciaro currently is one of the most high paid Formula 1 drivers on the grid. I
[14:55.760 -> 15:00.800] think many sources claim him to be in the top 5 of all the highest paid drivers and before Lando
[15:00.800 -> 15:08.080] Norris' contract extension, there were kind of rumours that he was paid what 2 or 3 times more than Norris itself, which is a big big amount.
[15:08.080 -> 15:12.240] And when you consider how Lando Norris has over performed in that case, it's hard to
[15:12.240 -> 15:13.760] kind of justify that salary.
[15:13.760 -> 15:17.720] But I know we are doubling down on Ricciardo quite a fair bit, but this just adds more
[15:17.720 -> 15:21.920] context that sometimes the highest paid deals are not the ones that work out the most in
[15:21.920 -> 15:22.920] that sense.
[15:22.920 -> 15:28.800] So I just want to ask one question, is it really that hard to switch over to a team and a different driving style of philosophy? Because
[15:28.800 -> 15:33.680] we've seen previously like the likes of Sebastian Vettel shift teams, Valtteri bought our shift
[15:33.680 -> 15:39.360] teams as well recently. It's been contrasting sort of, what do you say, fortunes of the two of them.
[15:39.360 -> 15:46.720] What's just happening for Ricardo in that sense? Well, it's just down to adaptation is largely the feeling but the question
[15:46.720 -> 15:53.360] has to be asked about focus and desire and this drive to excel which is strange that we are asking
[15:53.360 -> 15:58.720] that for you know Daniel Ricardo because he is one of those most focused and you know one of the
[15:58.720 -> 16:03.840] most ambitious drivers on the grid. I mean he left Red Bull because he thought that he was world
[16:03.840 -> 16:05.200] champion material which he probably still is but he thought that he was world champion material, which
[16:05.200 -> 16:09.040] he probably still is, but he probably won't get that sort of backing from Red Bull to
[16:09.040 -> 16:10.740] become a world champion, right?
[16:10.740 -> 16:16.060] But anyway, I think, you know, one of the things we should also look at in what you're
[16:16.060 -> 16:21.000] saying Samuel is the fact that when Ricardo actually signed McLaren, McLaren were also
[16:21.000 -> 16:22.140] on the upswing.
[16:22.140 -> 16:26.160] They were back to, you know, coming back into the top three type,
[16:26.160 -> 16:28.160] fighting into the top three.
[16:28.160 -> 16:32.680] The bad, nightmarish days of Honda were sort of behind them.
[16:32.680 -> 16:35.660] So they needed a star driver and getting him up there.
[16:35.660 -> 16:38.600] And instead of having a star driver who could also
[16:38.600 -> 16:41.920] jump ship, you'd rather tie him down where you can.
[16:41.920 -> 16:44.200] And that's why a three-year contract came where it did.
[16:44.200 -> 16:48.720] So in the case of drivers switching in, I think one of the things that has
[16:48.720 -> 16:54.560] been really tough are these regulations where testing is limited. Now there's a
[16:54.560 -> 17:00.960] cost cap. You know, the fact that McLaren is also not actually a Volkswagen team, so
[17:00.960 -> 17:04.800] to say, right? So each time they need to do extra testing with Daniel Ricciardo,
[17:04.800 -> 17:05.800] the question can be asked,
[17:05.800 -> 17:08.560] why aren't they going and just giving him an old car
[17:08.560 -> 17:11.200] and getting him sorted out if they could, right?
[17:11.200 -> 17:13.680] Because those things also come at extra test
[17:13.680 -> 17:16.360] because if you guys go back to 2020,
[17:16.360 -> 17:18.640] when we had the COVID-19 interruption,
[17:18.640 -> 17:21.580] you had the likes of Alpine, Ferrari, Mercedes
[17:21.580 -> 17:24.720] running old cars to keep their drivers away from rust.
[17:24.720 -> 17:26.960] And what were the McLaren boys doing?
[17:27.280 -> 17:32.800] They were driving Formula 3 cars, if I remember right, because they just needed to get some track time.
[17:32.920 -> 17:35.120] Was it Formula 3, Formula 2? I can't remember.
[17:35.200 -> 17:40.000] Right. But the point is, it's all sort of bubbling up.
[17:40.000 -> 17:45.960] And now we're at this phase where like, just how much more patient is McLaren going to be?
[17:45.960 -> 17:52.600] Or rather, the question is, can McLaren be as patient as all Daniel Ricciardo fans are going to be to see him bounce back?
[17:54.480 -> 17:59.520] Yeah, exactly. And Sundaram, it makes me just wonder, right, because we've all been so patient with him.
[17:59.880 -> 18:04.640] I suppose a similar kind of case was happening for Sergio Perez as well when he was at Red Bull Racing last year.
[18:03.600 -> 18:05.160] I suppose a similar kind of case was happening for Sergio Perez as well when he was at Red Bull Racing last year.
[18:05.160 -> 18:11.080] Again, if we claim that car characteristics are the major issue and if we claim that maybe
[18:11.080 -> 18:15.780] a different driving style is the major issue, which I think can partially, I mean, of course
[18:15.780 -> 18:19.280] it makes a huge difference in the end, it's all a different matter of technique, but Sergio
[18:19.280 -> 18:23.600] Perez was able to adapt so well to the Red Bull car and this year he seemingly is much,
[18:23.600 -> 18:24.640] much faster.
[18:24.640 -> 18:26.720] You could say a similar thing about Valtteri Bottas
[18:26.720 -> 18:28.720] because it's a completely different change in BU
[18:28.720 -> 18:31.600] and team and philosophy and the size of the team as well.
[18:31.600 -> 18:33.120] And he's doing so well.
[18:33.120 -> 18:35.780] So it's hard to really find an excuse, is it?
[18:35.780 -> 18:37.920] Which is just sad to say in a way.
[18:39.200 -> 18:41.120] And that's why it's so astonishing
[18:41.120 -> 18:45.360] seeing a world-class driver like Ricardo struggling to adapt.
[18:51.280 -> 18:56.400] And I think that's one of the biggest traits of a star driver is that you're able to adapt different situations, not just in the race, but also to the car, to the team, to everything that's
[18:56.400 -> 19:01.600] changing around you. And I think one person that you forgot to mention is Carlos Sainz. He's moved
[19:01.600 -> 19:08.000] quite a few teams over the last few years. He's moved from Toro Rosso to Renault and then to McLaren and to Ferrari. So these were
[19:08.000 -> 19:13.040] teams with different power units and different team environments completely
[19:13.040 -> 19:18.000] and they have managed to quickly adapt, acclimatize and then flourish because
[19:18.000 -> 19:23.200] whenever a driver joins a team there's always a case of unlearning what
[19:23.200 -> 19:25.280] you learned in the previous teams and then adapting to it. And there's always a case of unlearning what you learned in the previous teams and then
[19:25.280 -> 19:31.120] adapting to it and there are always a few teething problems when you join a new team but drivers like
[19:31.120 -> 19:37.200] Perez, Sainz, Bottas have done it so exceptionally well. Perez was quite honest about it and
[19:37.200 -> 19:42.080] upfront that he said give me five races and the results will start coming but it's not quite
[19:42.080 -> 19:51.920] been the case for Ricardo. It's been a season and a half right now and he's still having those teething problems and like I mentioned he's probably not in
[19:51.920 -> 19:56.320] the right frame of mind. We've discussed this extensively with his performance coach Michael
[19:56.320 -> 20:02.400] Italiano and even he said it's essential that drivers feel good about where they are right now.
[20:02.400 -> 20:05.760] They get ample sleep and they feel fresh and motivated.
[20:05.760 -> 20:07.660] Otherwise the results just won't come.
[20:08.660 -> 20:09.840] Actually, speaking of sleep,
[20:09.840 -> 20:12.120] we also had Matteo, the founder of 8sleep
[20:12.120 -> 20:14.880] and co-founder and CEO of 8sleep,
[20:14.880 -> 20:17.880] the sleep tech company also on the Insideline F1 podcast
[20:17.880 -> 20:19.160] and they partnered up with Maseris.
[20:19.160 -> 20:21.600] So if you want to know how that really works out
[20:21.600 -> 20:23.600] and how the Maseris drivers actually
[20:23.600 -> 20:27.440] kind of manage their sleep and kind of make sure that it helps their performance in a way.
[20:27.440 -> 20:31.040] Go check out that episode as well. But on the subject of Daniel Ricciaro Kunal,
[20:31.040 -> 20:35.600] I'm just wondering what can happen next because from Zac Brown's interview, I
[20:35.600 -> 20:39.720] kind of figured out in a way that McLaren don't quite have the absolute
[20:39.720 -> 20:43.920] power to cut his decision off because he said that we'll have to ask Daniel what
[20:43.920 -> 20:48.640] he wants to do which kind of makes me feel like McLaren don't quite have the final decision and Ricciardo can
[20:48.640 -> 20:52.640] choose whether he wants to or not. But what happens from here? Do they mutually end the
[20:52.640 -> 20:57.040] contract? Can Ricciardo go anywhere else? And especially I want to focus on the past,
[20:57.040 -> 21:02.080] especially because there are three major examples of drivers, big drivers who made switches to teams
[21:02.080 -> 21:06.800] and they thought that they would lift the team up up but that didn't quite happen. Cases like Damon Hill to Jordan,
[21:06.800 -> 21:10.960] cases like Jacques Villeneuve to BMW Sauber or Jean-Pablo Montoya to McLaren
[21:10.960 -> 21:14.560] where all the three drivers essentially failed to do their part in a way
[21:14.560 -> 21:17.280] and the end result was them leaving Formula One.
[21:17.280 -> 21:20.560] Now, is that a similar case of a good as he would tell you to get over here?
[21:20.560 -> 21:23.120] And if it is, that's just going to be such a sad day.
[21:24.320 -> 21:26.840] That's a fantastic reference from history, Somal.
[21:26.840 -> 21:28.960] Some of the top drivers making team switches,
[21:28.960 -> 21:33.080] not working out, and then saying goodbye to Formula 1.
[21:33.080 -> 21:35.120] I get a feeling that that's what's
[21:35.120 -> 21:37.040] going to happen to the Daniel Ricciardo story.
[21:37.040 -> 21:39.040] And now I'm putting my heart aside and speaking
[21:39.040 -> 21:40.440] with all my mind.
[21:40.440 -> 21:42.840] And it's a tough one to do that when it comes to Ricciardo,
[21:42.840 -> 21:45.120] because it seems tough that Ricardo's
[21:45.120 -> 21:51.640] going to go to a slower team, a team fighting at the back of the grid, fighting for 12,
[21:51.640 -> 21:54.880] 15, 14, 16, whatever positions it comes at.
[21:54.880 -> 21:58.240] And the fact is he's already doing that at McLaren.
[21:58.240 -> 22:03.800] So either he recovers with McLaren, either McLaren back him fully, which I'm sure they
[22:03.800 -> 22:04.800] are.
[22:04.800 -> 22:08.480] Just one interview is what has certainly sparked off a lot of controversy, right?
[22:08.480 -> 22:15.960] But either he recovers with McLaren in 2022 or he says goodbye, because I think
[22:15.960 -> 22:21.280] Daniel himself is going to be sensible enough not to keep holding on just
[22:21.280 -> 22:26.360] because he shouldn't. That's my reading. And, reading. And at the times at which McLaren and Daniel
[22:26.360 -> 22:31.360] sort of signed together, Daniel was the more powerful brand
[22:31.360 -> 22:33.360] than McLaren, because like I said,
[22:33.360 -> 22:36.840] McLaren was still recovering from their nightmarish Honda
[22:36.840 -> 22:37.640] days.
[22:37.640 -> 22:41.280] So it seems that Daniel probably has the upper hand when
[22:41.280 -> 22:43.720] it comes to exiting his contract, which
[22:43.720 -> 22:50.480] is why maybe Zac Brown said what he did. But another, you know, thing that's an interesting perspective here is how
[22:50.480 -> 22:56.240] the difference in a driver brand and the difference in a company brand sort of matters when it comes
[22:56.240 -> 23:06.200] to, you know, things like Formula One, because Zac Brown was probably not as vocal about Honda when Honda wasn't performing at McLaren as he
[23:06.200 -> 23:12.840] has been about Daniel Ricciardo. Zach Brown probably was not as vocal about
[23:12.840 -> 23:16.400] Honda because if why would the team principal have to do it if your driver
[23:16.400 -> 23:21.080] is doing it so vocally that too on the team radio for the whole world to listen
[23:21.080 -> 23:25.480] to. So I think Alonso was very very upfront about what he felt
[23:25.480 -> 23:30.800] about those Honda engines and that's why Zac Brown doesn't have to do it right now
[23:30.800 -> 23:35.240] yep exactly but he still sparked off the debate and sparked off all the
[23:35.240 -> 23:38.880] controversy by giving that one interview and saying that there could be a
[23:38.880 -> 23:43.640] possibility that McLaren might end up replacing him but for Formula One Daniel
[23:43.640 -> 23:45.760] Ricciardo is in a way irreplaceable.
[23:45.760 -> 23:51.280] He's the only Australian driver on the grid right now. And for him, it's such a big brand for them,
[23:51.280 -> 23:55.600] rather, it's such a big brand to have, as you mentioned, Kunal in the US as well, also is
[23:55.600 -> 24:00.400] kind of big fandom in Australia and globally as well in Asia too. He's such a big name and people
[24:00.400 -> 24:06.520] want to come to the races to watch him and to see him race. So how big of a loss will this be for F1?
[24:06.520 -> 24:09.760] Will they try to kind of do all they can to kind of keep him in there?
[24:09.760 -> 24:14.000] Because let's be honest, it's a big, big loss for any big sport to lose a character like
[24:14.000 -> 24:15.840] Ricciardo who's so valuable off the track.
[24:15.840 -> 24:19.200] I mean, if you come to think of it, a whole part of the Drive to Survive, the original
[24:19.200 -> 24:21.240] series was built on his own character.
[24:21.240 -> 24:23.640] Two episodes out of five or six, that was.
[24:23.640 -> 24:25.280] So this guy clearly means a lot to
[24:25.280 -> 24:32.480] the sport. That's a very interesting question Somal because eventually you know driver nationalities
[24:32.480 -> 24:38.320] is how Formula One builds a lot of its local marketing and so on right. In the case of
[24:38.320 -> 24:45.700] Riccardo he's the only driver from Australia but also very very popular in in lots of other markets not
[24:45.700 -> 24:50.860] to mention you know the United States of America itself right but this is again
[24:50.860 -> 24:55.600] the Carlos Sainz, Fernando Alonso space that Formula One is in because Carlos
[24:55.600 -> 24:59.920] Sainz was not as big a brand in Spain another very important Formula One
[24:59.920 -> 25:07.960] market when Fernando Alonso was not doing well and had sort of left. But now there are two strong Spanish drivers, right?
[25:08.160 -> 25:10.720] In the case of Australian Formula One
[25:10.920 -> 25:15.280] drivers, Oscar Piastri is waiting in the wings, the reigning Formula Two champion.
[25:15.480 -> 25:18.000] Could he be the one that they would sort
[25:18.200 -> 25:21.720] of build going forward as the next big Australian Formula One?
[25:21.720 -> 25:23.160] Hope it could be. So it's happened.
[25:23.160 -> 25:24.840] You know, drivers come, drivers go.
[25:25.140 -> 25:26.440] The sport has always been around,
[25:26.440 -> 25:27.740] the teams have always been around,
[25:27.740 -> 25:29.860] well, at least some of them.
[25:29.860 -> 25:32.240] But again, that, you know, we are assuming two things
[25:32.240 -> 25:35.160] that A, Oscar's gonna be doing very well in Formula One.
[25:35.160 -> 25:37.180] That's an easier assumption to make
[25:37.180 -> 25:40.180] because he is, you know, he's been on the same trajectory
[25:40.180 -> 25:41.500] as say, Charles Leclerc, you know,
[25:41.500 -> 25:43.360] that in the last three years.
[25:43.360 -> 25:44.880] But the other important question is,
[25:44.880 -> 25:50.720] will Oscar be as interesting a personality as Daniel Ricciardo has been in Formula One and
[25:50.720 -> 25:56.160] the only way to find out is if he actually gets to the grid in 2023, which I hope
[25:56.160 -> 26:02.080] is not at the cost of Daniel Ricciardo. And finally, gentlemen, before we wrap up this
[26:02.080 -> 26:06.160] episode, I want to know your predictions of what happens I get a feeling that he stays
[26:06.160 -> 26:10.140] I think they will keep him on and maybe try to see if things work with the car
[26:10.140 -> 26:14.960] But what about you guys? What do you see happening Daniel Ricciardo very briefly? I'll start with you Sundaram
[26:16.960 -> 26:18.960] It's it's a very difficult choice to make
[26:19.280 -> 26:24.600] If his performances don't really improve until the mid-season, I think he and McLaren are gonna part ways
[26:24.600 -> 26:29.720] I think it's also important from him to, for his side, to enjoy driving in the sport.
[26:29.720 -> 26:35.600] And if he doesn't enjoy doing that with McLaren, I think he'll walk away.
[26:35.600 -> 26:39.160] Mid-season means he's got like four races to try and find his groove.
[26:39.160 -> 26:45.800] And actually, I think it's going to be better from the coming races because if we see the last
[26:46.180 -> 26:49.920] Three odd races, you know, we had Miami we had Spain we had Monaco
[26:50.320 -> 26:57.480] Lots of low-speed sectors and driving which is where Daniel Ricardo seems more away from you know, Lando Norris
[26:57.480 -> 27:00.840] It could be that he starts or starts crawling his way back
[27:01.720 -> 27:11.360] McLaren also have said that before Baku they're gonna do a a lot of simulator sessions with Daniel to see where his loss to Lando Norris has been.
[27:11.360 -> 27:18.000] I suspect they're going to try and work very very hard to make 2022 work and
[27:18.000 -> 27:23.800] then you know sort of just hold on to a decision to a much later time in the
[27:23.800 -> 27:26.000] season and you know then see if you know both to a decision to a much later time in the season and, you know,
[27:26.000 -> 27:30.960] then see if, you know, both of them want to continue or not. But I think the exit, if it has to come,
[27:31.520 -> 27:36.720] will be a Ricardo decision, like, you know, you said Sundaram, if he doesn't enjoy himself
[27:36.720 -> 27:41.600] fighting where he is, that's where the exit is going to be. And I mentioned Oscar Piazzari.
[27:41.600 -> 27:48.360] There are two other drivers who could also be in the Reckoning, Pat O'Ward and you know, Corton Hurta, the IndyCar stars. They
[27:48.360 -> 27:52.680] could also be McLaren's, you know, options to hire. They've been put on a Formula
[27:52.680 -> 27:58.480] One development program, as we know, by McLaren itself. And, you know, I feel that
[27:58.480 -> 28:04.440] whichever team hires the next American Formula One driver will also benefit a
[28:04.440 -> 28:05.920] lot commercially.
[28:05.920 -> 28:11.720] So again, I really hope that this experiment of, hey, can we get commercial success at the cost of,
[28:12.640 -> 28:17.520] you know, can we get commercial success in Formula One by hiring an American driver?
[28:17.920 -> 28:21.960] That experiment comes at the cost of Daniel Ricciardo's career in Formula One.
[28:21.960 -> 28:24.320] So I really hope that's not the case.
[28:25.200 -> 28:26.040] Yeah, likewise.
[28:26.040 -> 28:28.240] Really ashamed to see how things are going right now.
[28:28.240 -> 28:30.760] But folks, I hope you enjoyed listening to and watching
[28:30.760 -> 28:31.400] this episode.
[28:31.400 -> 28:33.080] And if you did, you know the deal.
[28:33.080 -> 28:35.560] You have to leave a like, share this episode,
[28:35.560 -> 28:37.920] subscribe to the podcast, and all the other good stuff.
[28:37.920 -> 28:40.480] But thank you so much once again for listening and watching.
[28:40.480 -> 28:41.680] Thank you, Sundaram and Kunal, for being
[28:41.680 -> 28:42.720] a part of this episode.
[28:42.720 -> 28:49.120] And we shall see you folks back here rather soon for all the other race preview and review coverage on the podcast
[28:49.120 -> 28:50.120] right here.
[28:50.120 -> 28:51.120] See you.
[28:51.120 -> None] Bye. you