Daniel Ricciardo has made no secret of his difficulties getting to grips with McLaren’s MCL35M this season, but after disappointing races in Monaco and Azerbaijan, he looked a lot like the old honey badger at Sunday’s French Grand Prix.
From P10, Ricciardo was able to pull off several of his signature passes with late braking after a rapid performance, including Lando Norris’ sister McLaren in the very first corner. And although he ended up coming home just behind his team-mate after a much earlier tire change, the famous Australian grin after the fall of the flag at Paul Ricard couldn’t be concealed.
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“It was fun – fought, fought, chatted, elbows stretched and then ended up having to fend off a fast attacking (Pierre) Gasly and (Fernando) Alonso,” said Ricciardo after finishing sixth to fifth from Norris . after remarkable overtaking maneuvers like world champions Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen.
“I’m glad I just had a fun Sunday with some fights and all that, so I came home with some good points for the team – they are obviously thrilled, fifth and sixth – so a good day for us if considering where we started and I think where some of our rivals ended up (with) it was a big one. “
Daniel Ricciardo enjoyed riding with his elbows outstretched at the French Grand Prix
The “big thing” for Ricciardo was that from the moment the lights went out, he seemed to have confidence in his car, something he had missed in his first year at McLaren when he tried to adapt his driving style to the MCL35M adapt.
“Yes, after the frustrations of Monaco, I took a step back and was like a ‘big picture’ – I know it will come and I know that if I persist … I think I’ll be resilient all these days want so it will come and i will be able to fight, make a few moves and all that stuff.
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“So this car will feel like home and I think it felt a bit more home today – and hopefully the next two (races) will be fun too, with some good moves, fights – and it’s nice , the others also suffer a little more than we do. “
The main victims were Ferrari – McLaren’s closest rivals in the title race. While the Woking team took 18 points home from Le Castellet, Scuderia failed to score, which meant McLaren extended their P3 lead to 16 points overall.
