Ricciardo set a new “win” goal for McLaren in Australia

At this season’s Australian Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo is optimistic that McLaren will be capable of competing for wins on merit.

A podium finish is the best McLaren can hope for right now, according to Daniel Ricciardo, and achieving that would be a “little success” for the squad.

Despite a late Safety Car, Daniel Ricciardo and driver Lando Norris ended half a minute behind the final point on race day, giving McLaren a disastrous beginning to the 2022 season in Bahrain.

The MCL36 was significantly better adapted to Saudi Arabia and the high-speed Jeddah Corniche Circuit, with Norris grabbing a few of points in seventh and Ricciardo retiring from a good position due to technical issues.

As Formula One goes on to Australia, and Ricciardo’s home race, the 32-year-old is certain that McLaren will be able to reap the benefits of the Albert Park layout’s key upgrades, which emphasise speed.

“It’s going to be flowing and quite fast, especially [with] the changes they made,” Ricciardo told media.

“Perhaps that comes to us again and maybe we could fight for points. I mean, I know that’s not aiming very high, but that’s really all we can aim for [right] now.

“Until we get some big updates, I think anything inside the top 10 we’ll take as a little victory.”

Ricciardo believes Bahrain was a “bogey situation” for McLaren

Ricciardo is also encouraged by his and his team’s significantly superior performance in Saudi Arabia compared to Bahrain.

“It was a more positive weekend. Obviously, we had a failure, so it’s still not ideal, but we were much more competitive,” he said.

“I think both of us, [for] Lando and myself, the feeling with the car was certainly better. It doesn’t feel bad, we’d just like that extra little bit of grip and downforce.

“In a way, that’s encouraging as well, because I think, fundamentally, we’re not out, we’ve just got to find more chunks.”

Ricciardo attributed McLaren’s performance in Jeddah to “circuit characteristics,” but is hoping his fingers that Bahrain will remain their season’s low point.

“I’m really hoping that Bahrain was a bit of a bogey situation for us,” he commented.

“We cleaned up a few things, [some] stuff with the brakes that we had issues [with] in Bahrain, but I think it was just the circuit.”

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