IN PHOTOS: Daniel Ricciardo Celebrates the Return of Australian Grand Prix

The Australian Grand Prix is back! For the first time since 2019, Formula One will officially race down under in Melbourne. The sport last visited the country in 2020 but had to cancel the race on the eve of FP1 because of the COVID outbreak. The return of the race at Albert Park has brought a smile to everyone’s face and none bigger than Daniel Ricciardo.

The McLaren driver has always looked forward to racing in his home country. The McLaren team even took to social media to express the excitement about the race by posting some pictures of Daniel smiling.

READ MORE: Daniel Ricciardo Reveals the Most Embarrassing Moment in His F1 Career

But as we go racing on Sunday, Daniel would hope that he could finish the whole Grand Prix this time. The last time F1 was in Melbourne, the 32-year-old was driving for Renault and couldn’t finish the race after damaging his car on Lap 1.

Can Daniel Ricciardo score some points in Melbourne this time?

This time, the Aussie driver is facing another issue that might prove to be a hurdle to him getting a successful result in Melbourne. This season McLaren has a fairly uncompetitive car, which means that the drivers are facing some major issues with it.

Daniel is yet to score any points after the first two rounds of the 2022 season. He came close to scoring his first points of the season last weekend but had to retire as his car lost drive. But he is confident that the Woking-based team will improve throughout the season and might be competitive once again.

“If it comes, it will come a bit later than certainly desired. But without getting ahead [of ourselves], if we were to come and win a race at some point this year, I wouldn’t actually be surprised because I still believe in the team and the process we have in place and the people we have in place to get the job done. I have 100% faith and belief in people like Andreas [Seidl, team principal],” said Daniel.

WATCH THIS STORY: Everything You Need to Know About Daniel Ricciardo’s Famous Tattoos

This would be the first time that Ricciardo would be racing in McLaren colors in Melbourne. It would be interesting to see if he manages to score his first points of the season in Australia.

It would be a dream for his fans to see him celebrating on the podium and doing the shoey in Melbourne. But is that something that McLaren has on the table for this weekend? Let us know our thoughts in the comments below.