Ricciardo: 'I'm trying really hard to feel comfortable'

The first half of the 2021 season is not going particularly smoothly for Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian driver is driving his first season for McLaren this year, but he is struggling with the car, which is preventing him from achieving the desired results.

There is often talk of a 'feeling' that a driver needs to find with the car to get the potential out of it. "In terms of my feeling with the McLaren, I just feel different sensations, in some cases completely new. I really try my best to feel comfortable. Especially at the beginning of the year, my reaction was to become defensive and that didn't work", Ricciardo told the Italian outlet of Motorsport.com.

A driver's teammate is actually the only person with whom data can be compared, yet this is not always the case. "No, theoretically you could see it like that, but the reality is different. When you see the data and you realize that your teammate is doing something different, you visualise in your mind that situation on the track and you immediately realise that you can't do it. I have that sometimes with Lando [Norris]."

"Every driver has a unique, personal style and even if you set up the car the same way as your teammate, you won't get the same result because we are all different. It's complicated because these cars are complicated," continued the McLaren driver.

Does he see light at the end of the tunnel though? "Things are improving, I'm starting to see it, but there's still work to be done. We have managed to make a good step forward. In my case, I still have to be patient. I know there are still steps to take, the Silverstone weekend was one of those steps."