‘I’ve not forgotten how to drive’: Daniel Ricciardo hits back at critics after poor start to 2022 F1 season
The Australian’s best effort so far this year has been a sixth-placed finish in his home race
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Your support makes all the difference.Daniel Ricciardo has insisted that he has not ‘forgotten how to drive’ amid an extended run of poor form in Formula 1.
The Australian has struggled to live up to expectations since joining McLaren from Red Bull last year, and his best effort so far this season has been a sixth-placed finish in his home race in April.
Ricciardo’s contract with McLaren runs until the end of 2023, but team chief Zak Brown has hinted that the 32-year-old’s deal could be terminated earlier than that date.
“It kind of ebbs and flows, where sometimes I’ll get down on myself,” Ricciardo told Crash on Monday, “but then other times I’m fired up and motivated to prove a lot of people wrong and prove myself right.
“More times than not, I’ll kind of chuckle at the doubt, because even last year – for sure – there were times where I was trying to figure it out. But already in April and May [last year] there were articles like, ‘He’s lost it,’ but six months earlier in 2020 I was regarded as one of the standout drivers of that season.
“The reality is I’ve not forgotten how to drive in six months, I haven’t lost my competitive edge; it’s just kind of a moment in time that I knew I could come out of. You are always going to get people saying this and that. It is what it is, it’s up to me in the car to prove them wrong.
“But no one’s going to get into me more than myself as well, so someone telling me that I need to pull my finger out is not going to change me – because if they are telling me to pull my finger out, then I’m telling myself much more.”
Last time out, Ricciardo finished 13th at the Monaco Grand Prix.
Next up is the Azerbaijan GP on Sunday 12 June. Last season, Ricciardo recorded a 13th-placed finish at the event.
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