Column | Will Daniel Ricciardo recover from his slump?

The recent Monaco Grand Prix was a concerning race for Daniel Ricciardo. The Aussie has has historically performed well at the circuit, claiming two poles and a win in 2018. However, his performance in 2021 seemed uncharacteristically poor, and now begs the question: is he in danger?

Race Report 

Qualifying was a difficult ordeal for the Aussie driver, as he failed to get into Q3 for the first time since the 2012 season. This played a significant contrast to his teammate's performance, with Lando Norris qualifying one & a half tenths off the front row. Come Sunday, Ricciardo would be swamped off the start, losing out to Lance Stroll & Kimi Raikkonen. This condemned his race to be one of staring at the rear wing of the Alfa Romeo, with little opportunity to pass.

The most often used metric for a driver’s performance is their teammate, so it certainly raised several fan’s eyebrows to see Ricciardo being lapped by Norris in the latter stages of the Grand Prix. 

What now?

Patience needs to be shown to the Australian. McLaren needs to put an arm around his shoulder and provide him with the necessary time & support to continue improving. Ricciardo is known to be an incredibly reflective driver, so there would be no need for the team to apply any more pressure. If they did so, they would run the risk of damaging his confidence & hindering his progression, which would be a major mishandling of a 7 time Grand Prix winner.

Monaco is an unforgiving track & therefore it would have limited Ricciardo’s ability to take certain risks, such as experimenting with setup to see what works best for him. Fans may remember his struggles within the first year of joining the then Renault F1 team & how it took him almost an entire year to come to grips with the car. The following year then provided him with the rewards for his efforts, becoming one of the most consistent performers come race day.

The team has also come out & declared that there was no underlying damage or issue with the car to hamper the Australian’s performance. It’s simply the driving style which has to be adapted to extract that maximum performance out of the car.

As for Ricciardo, all he can do is keep his head down. Diving deep into the data & understanding his deficits to Ricciardo would help bridge the gap. Further bedding himself into the the car will also help him adapt his driving style, understand the quirks and allow him to push for his maximum once more.