Bahrain GP: Daniel Ricciardo ‘More Comfortable’ at McLaren Compared to Renault After First F1 Race

McLaren had incredible pre-season testing at Bahrain a couple of weeks ago, dominating the mid-field pack. And they managed to carry the form into the opening race weekend as well.

While Lando Norris finished just outside the Top-3, Daniel Ricciardo managed to score his first points with McLaren by seeing the checkered flag in P7.

It was overall an incredible outing for the British team, as they look to be the third-fastest team out there at the moment. Furthermore, things are looking very positive for the Honey Badger as well.

Of course, he finished a long way from his teammate. But unfortunately, he was lacking the desired pace to fight for a Top-5 finish and hence had to settle for a much lower position.

Meanwhile, Norris is continuing to be a part of the team for the third straight season now. Hence, he managed to hit the peak from the word go.

Ricciardo, on the other hand, is still toiling with his car’s setup to find a sweet spot, and despite failing to do so, he still grasped a total of 6 points out of the season-opener.

What did Daniel Ricciardo say?

During the post-race interview, the Australian opened up that he is feeling much more comfortable in McLaren than he did with Renault following his switch from Red Bull in 2019.

“I’m certainly…I would say very happy that I got the race under my belt today and did all the laps. I made, let’s say, countless notes throughout the race to feedback to the teams,” he said.

“It’s important, you know, in racing conditions as well. And I think Friday was a great day for me to experiment with the setup and still know what I’m after with this car.

“I still don’t know what’s gonna work for me. But I think we’re not far off. I certainly feel more comfortable after race one than I did a couple of years ago after the switch I made from Red Bull to Renault.”

Overall, there is still a lot of learning to do for the Australian. Hence, it could only be a matter of time before he catches up with the Ferraris and potentially his cheeky in-form teammate, Norris. But could he accomplish it by as early as the next race weekend? Well, let’s wait and watch.