Daniel Ricciardo outlines key areas F1 star ‘especially’ must improve at AlphaTauri

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Eight-time Formula 1 Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo has now explained the major
areas the Australian racer feels he ‘especially’ must improve to thrive with AlphaTauri.

The 34-year-old made a shock return to the F1 grid at the Hungarian GP in July. Red Bull put Ricciardo back in their sister team, AlphaTauri, at Nyck De Vries’ expense after 10 rounds. He was acting as Red Bull’s test and reserve driver after McLaren dropped him for Oscar Piastri.

Ricciardo raced for AlphaTauri during the team’s time as Toro Rosso in 2012 and 2013 before graduating to Red Bull. He would also go on to win his first Grand Prix for the Milton Keynes natives at the 2014 Canadian GP. Further wins followed that season in Hungary and Belgium.

Why did Daniel Ricciardo struggle in Formula 1 with McLaren?

Grand Prix glory sporadically continued throughout the Perth-born racer’s career at Red Bull before joining Renault in 2019. Another race win also followed following Ricciardo’s move to McLaren in 2021 at that year’s Italian GP. They had not won any F1 race since Brazil in 2012.

But Ricciardo could not build on ending McLaren’s drought and continued to struggle to get to grips with their car. So, the Woking-based squad sought to replace the veteran with 2021 Formula 2 champion, Piastri. Lando Norris dominated Ricciardo through their stint together.

Lacking a general feel and not getting the feedback Ricciardo desired ensured the Australian was never at one with his McLaren. Corner entry, on which he built his reputation as one of the last of the late brakers in F1, was another area where Ricciardo struggled at McLaren.

Joining AlphaTauri with two rounds remaining before the summer break handed Ricciardo a chance to prove his talent remains strong. He qualified 13th in Hungary with teammate Yuki Tsunoda in 17th. But first corner contact through no fault of his own ruined Ricciardo’s race.

Ricciardo could only qualify 19th for the Belgian GP, though, after exceeding track limits over his fastest lap in Q1. He ultimately ended the Grand Prix in 16th while Tsunoda, who started from 11th, scored one point in 10th. The AlphaTauri pair crossed the line 23 seconds apart.

Daniel Ricciardo opens up on where he can improve at AlphaTauri

Now, ahead of F1 coming out of its summer shutdown at this weekend’s Dutch GP, Ricciardo has opened up on the areas he and his AlphaTauri mechanics believe the Australian can, and must, improve. Ricciardo has also praised how Tsunoda’s results provide a helpful yardstick.

“There were definitely things I worked on [in Hungary] and Yuki was a good reference,” said Ricciardo, via quotes by Formula 1’s official website. “Especially coming out of the box, little bits of driving and kind of where the car could be on the limit in some areas of the track.

“There were certainly things that the engineers were showing me and saying, ‘Ok, I think you can probably do this here and improve that there’.

“There was some learning to be had but I think also they wanted to see how I drive the car and kind of go from there. I was improving where I knew I could. But they were kind of just letting me drive it naturally and see where that ended up, and that was cool.”