Daniel Ricciardo Reveals Sainz Exchange Over ‘Strange’ McLaren Behaviour

Out of all the drivers struggling in new teams, Daniel Ricciardo seems to be the worst affected. Needless to say, the Australian driver seems pretty fed up with his struggles at McLaren.

After the bitter blow of seeing his teammate on the podium hit him hard, Ricciardo seems keen to move on and quickly. So far, he has been forced to play second fiddle to teammate Lando Norris.

In the first five races, Ricciardo has only beaten Norris on one occasion. To make matters worse, Norris even lapped Daniel Ricciardo while on his way to the podium. Something that obviously would not sit well with the 31-year-old.

This is because the Monte Carlo circuit was supposed to be one of his best tracks. Especially since he won the race back in 2018 for Red Bull, so for his own teammate to put him a lap down, it is not something that he would forget too easily.

Daniel Ricciardo on his talks with Carlos Sainz

Admittedly, most of his contemporaries who switched teams have begun to find their feet. The best example of this is the man he replaced at McLaren, Carlos Sainz Jr. As it turns out, Ferrari’s newest recruit has been fairly impressive and even bagged a podium in Monaco.

“I think, for whatever reason, naturally at the moment the car isn’t quite coming to me,” he told Sky Sports. “Bumped into Carlos not too long ago. He was like, ‘What do you think, strange huh?’

“And I was like, ‘Thanks for telling me!’ I feel there is a bit of a characteristic with this car that, let’s say, is a bit strange. Generally, you’ve got a window to work in and you can play inside that area and be fairly okay.”

Now, the Australian driver hopes to turn things around when F1 reaches Azerbaijan. Ricciardo has performed well at Baku in the past, but that was when he was with Red Bull.

Nevertheless, he will be eager to snatch a good result for the Woking-based outfit and keep up with Lando Norris.

READ MORE: Sainz Predicts ‘Rocket’ McLaren to Help Norris Enjoy a Dominant Weekend in Baku