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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Renault Sport F1 smiles at the livery launch of the Renault Sport Formula One Team RS20 during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Renault Sport F1 smiles at the livery launch of the Renault Sport Formula One Team RS20 during previews ahead of the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Daniel Ricciardo completed his first official session with McLaren on Friday. He had a great first outing with his new team, as he entered the grid in the morning session and clocked in the fastest.
McLaren finished the Friday session with P2 and P7 positions on the timesheets for morning and afternoon sessions, respectively. In an interview, Ricciardo explained he couldn’t be happier with his session with McLaren.
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Formula One F1 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix – Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. December 10, 2020 Renault’s Daniel Ricciardo during the press conference FIA/Handout via REUTERS
He shared, “We got a good amount of runs and laps done, with a focus on getting more and more familiar and comfortable in the car. The plan for the next few days is similar, we’re aiming to leave here feeling ready to go for the Bahrain Grand Prix. Happy days!”
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Daniel Ricciardo extremely pleased with the team
Daniel Ricciardo is stepping into his first season with the team, and thus, it was very important to see how he responded to his new car. Certainly, it was a sigh of relief for the team and the Australian when everything went well on Friday.
“It was a smooth morning, everything ran well and that’s all you can ask in testing – you want reliability on your side and the team back in Woking has done an awesome job of giving us a great start on day one.”
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SAO PAULO, BRAZIL: Daniel Ricciardo of Australia and Renault Sport F1 smiles before the F1 Grand Prix of Brazil. At Autodromo Jose Carlos Pace in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)
“We got a good amount of runs and laps done, with a focus on getting more and more familiar and comfortable in the car,” shared the new McLaren driver.
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Daniel Ricciardo’s partner Lando Norris did not have a smooth sail on Friday and is already learning from the session. Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel’s gearbox issue on Saturday morning was a cause of concern for Mercedes.
Just a day before, Valtteri Bottas also succumbed to a gearbox issue exactly after six laps. The German spoke out and said that he is not blaming Mercedes for a shortened testing session.
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McLaren is using the same engine as Mercedes and Aston Martin. It begs the question of whether they will face similar issues as well? It hasn’t happened yet. Ricciardo seems absolutely happy and the Australian’s chances look fantastic based on his drive yesterday.
Where do you reckon Ricciardo will finish on the drivers’ standings?
