Ricciardo found his poor start to the season 'almost laughable'

Daniel Ricciardo started the season with difficulty at his new employer McLaren. Lando Norris was significantly faster than his Australian teammate and certainly in the first half of the season performed much better. For Ricciardo it caused a loss of confidence.

Ricciardo started doubting himself

In the first part of the season Norris scored more than twice as many points as Ricciardo and the young Briton finished on the podium three times. Ricciardo did not score a single podium finish. After the summer break the two drivers were more evenly matched and Ricciardo gave McLaren its first victory in nine years at Monza.

After that win at Monza, he addressed his critics on the team radio by saying he had never left, just stepped aside for a while. However, the message was mostly there for Ricciardo himself. "There were times when I lost my faith a little bit and doubted myself," he told Autosport. The Australian wondered for a long time why he was struggling so much.

Belief in better times for Ricciardo

The summer break came at a good time for the McLaren driver. He needed it according to himself. Especially after the Hungarian Grand Prix, where he finished eleventh out of thirteen drivers, Ricciardo was very dejected. "It's almost laughable in some ways. I just wanted to get on a plane and not think about Formula One for a fortnight."

However, Ricciardo did know that things would eventually improve, and they did. The Australian apparently desperately needed the relaxation of the summer break. "I'm not a driver who goes to bed every night thinking about F1. So I knew it would be healthy for me."