Are Daniel Ricciardo’s 2022 McLaren Struggles the Writing on the Wall for His F1 Career?

Ahead of the start of the 2022 season, McLaren was striding with positivity and momentum. Their last two seasons provided them hope that after years of reshuffling and rebuilding, they have found a formula to be back on top again. With Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris, they also have the perfect balance between youth and experience to compete with the bench markers.

Fast forward to the present; things are not panning out the way McLaren wanted. While Norris is performing well with the car he has, Ricciardo has severely underperformed. Feeling the pressure of being in the spotlight, the Australian has just scored 11 points in 7 races. What promised to be the year of Riccardo’s resurgence has turned out to be a rather disappointing season for the Honey Badger.

Ricciardo’s F1 career has been a rollercoaster ride. But it feels like the Australian is on one of those downhills that seems to go on forever and ever. And now, even his future with McLaren is questioned.

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The rumors are flying all over the media that the British team is looking to move on from Ricciardo. The promised improvement has failed to materialize. So, it is hard not to ponder what is next for the McLaren driver.

Why has Daniel Ricciardo struggled in 2022?

It’s hard to break it down into one incident, but both McLaren and Ricciardo have not met the expectations this season. Ever since he signed for McLaren, there were questions about whether his style suits the car. He is known for his late-breaking style where his rivals are left wondering on how he pulled off the move.

While this is how he made his name, the Aussie usually likes to break early when there isn’t a need to overtake. By doing so, he can apply the throttle earlier and roll into the apex faster. However, with the MCL 35 last year, he struggled to manage this.

Of course, drivers take time to adapt to a new team and the car, but the Woking outfit hoped that the 32-year-old will be on top of it this time around with complete changes to the car. However, Ricciardo seems to have the same issues as last season in adjusting to the car.

After the Spanish GP, he hid his disappointment with a smile like he always does. Despite a decent qualifying session, his struggles during the race were clear as the drivers passed him with relative ease. It seems that was the tipping point for both the parties.

The comparison with Lando Norris

Since Ricciardo has only scored points in one race so far, it is safe to say that his young and hungry teammate Lando Norris is carrying the team. The young Brit has scored 48 of McLaren’s 59 points and the difference between the two drivers is evident. Although the car has struggled to match expectations this year, Norris’ performances have further escalated the rumors on Ricciardo’s exit.

With just 11 points scored, the Aussie has been on the wrong end of the records as well. Only Stefan Vandoorne in 2018 has scored fewer points in 7 races for McLaren than Ricciardo. Further, the difference between him and his teammate is enormous, as the data suggests.

Norris has looked at home in the car, while Ricciardo’s fortunes are not likely to change if he carries on in this form. The Monaco GP further retaliated the gap between the two, as the 22-year-old finished 6th, while Ricciardo only finished 13th and was a sitting duck throughout the race.

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After the race, he once again revealed his thoughts on a difficult race, “I’ll say there is still some stuff to get on top off, and obviously it’s been a while now, so I wish it still wasn’t the case, but I think the reality is that,” he conveyed.

What does the future hold for Daniel Ricciardo?

The future certainly looks bleak for the Aussie, without a doubt. Further, McLaren CEO Zak Brown has also stated that they could part ways at the end of 2022.

He said, “I don’t want to get into the contract, but there are mechanisms in which we’re committed to each other, and mechanisms in which we’re not. I spoke with Daniel about it. We’re not getting the results that we both hoped for, but we’re both going to continue to push.”

For now, it looks like Ricciardo’s confidence is at an all-time low. With all the noise surrounding his future with McLaren and Formula 1, his departure seems quite apparent.

With that said, he has shown his ability to bounce back in the past. Remember his heartbreak in Monaco in 2016? He came back to the same venue and took home the honors two years later. Remember his ability being questioned just last season? He once again showed the world why he is considered a top driver with a stunning victory in Monza.

Can the Aussie once again shut his critics and retain his McLaren seat? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.