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Daniel Ricciardo's former race engineer Simon Rennie feels that the version of the Australian that came back from McLaren to Red Bull was an under-confident and "hollow" one. Ricciardo left the team in 2018 in pursuit of achieving a championship run with a different outfit.
The Australian driver started his journey with Renault in 2019, but moved to McLaren in 2021. Although he won a race with the team in Monza, the stint was a complete disaster. He was never comfortable with the car and struggled to keep up with Lando Norris. As a result, during the two-year stint with the team, Daniel Ricciardo lost a lot of confidence.
Even Red Bull boss Christian Horner stated that Ricciardo "came back looking a bit skinny." Talking about the Australian's return to the team in the 'Talking Bull' podcast, his former race engineer Simon Rennie said:
“I don’t think that was as easy as you thought it was going to be. I was thinking, when he first came back, I was quite surprised. Knowing Daniel, when he came back how he was and I didn’t say this to you at the time. You were definitely not as confident as I know you are and you were just like a little bit hollow in a way. It felt like you were doubting yourself a little bit and you were a bit concerned about whether you could do it again."
Rennie added:
“Because obviously you’d had good success with us and you’ve had the last couple years which haven’t been quite as successful and it didn’t necessarily click straightaway in the simulator. I don’t know if you left with a good feeling or not after that first day but you still seemed a little bit unsure of it all. Then you went away, had a bit of time off at home and then the next time you’re in, it’s like you were already a bit more bouncy.”
Daniel Ricciardo on why these comments make him feel better about his McLaren stint
In the aforementioned podcast, Daniel Ricciardo admitted that he appreciated these comments as they gave him perspective about his time away from Red Bull. He stated that they made him feel better about the McLaren stint, as it showed he wasn't on the top of his game. He said:
"It’s good in a way. I don’t mind hearing that at all because it also makes me feel a little bit better in a way about last year. Because obviously my results weren’t what I expected for myself, what anyone probably expected for me and I think stepping out of that and having a bit of time off over summer and knowing I wasn’t going to be racing this year just [gave me] time to think about other things."
Daniel Ricciardo, who is currently driving for AlphaTauri, is recuperating from the hand injury he sustained in Zandvoort. He will miss out on the next few races as he completes his recovery.
