Pandemic made tough year even tougher: 'You want to build that'

Daniel Ricciardo had a difficult season in his first year at McLaren. The Australian driver couldn't manage to tune the car to his liking throughout the campaign, and moreover, the pandemic has made the year even more difficult.

Ricciardo spent two seasons at Renault after leaving Red Bull, but opted for a switch to drive alongside Lando Norris at McLaren in 2021 when the Brit's former teammate Carlos Sainz joined Ferrari. Despite his experience in F1, it proved difficult for Ricciardo to get used to his new car, so Norris was often able to achieve better results.

Building a relationship with the team was also more difficult because of the pandemic. Many of the activities took place online, making it harder to get to know people well. "You want to have the same goal. To do that you want to be on the same page and therefore it comes back to building these relationships," he said to Motorsportweek.

Despite the pandemic and a difficult season, the 'honey badger' is satisfied with his season and the results he achieved. The highlight was the victory at Monza where he crossed the finish line first and his teammate finished second, but barring that great result, he sees room for improvement: "I’m happy to have built that, built that level of trust as well. But these things can always grow and become more valuable," he said.