That Daniel Ricciardo is still not having a great year is obvious. The Australian is therefore not surprised that people talk negatively about his performance this season, but he himself knows that he can do better.
Understanding the negative reactions
Ricciardo currently has to make do with just two points finishes and a sixth place in the sprint race at Imola. This puts him on fifteen points, while teammate Lando Norris is on 40 points and already has a podium finish behind his name in 2022.
"I would be more surprised if I was coming, say 13th, and everyone is like, ‘Dan’s killing it this year’", Ricciardo said in conversation with Independent. The Aussie himself knows full well that he is underperforming and can therefore understand the negative reactions. Even McLaren CEO Zak Brown said that the performance is not as expected.
Ricciardo not giving up
Ricciardo, despite Brown's comment, assumes that the American believes in him. "I am well aware of how I am doing and I take it as a roundabout way of a compliment because he also believes I can be doing better."
In Azerbaijan, Ricciardo showed that he wants to fight for his place at McLaren. In qualifying, he narrowly lost out to Norris, but in the race, he managed to finish just ahead of his British teammate on P8.