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Daniel Ricciardo believes FIA race director Michael Masi and his team of race stewards have had to deal with 'too much pressure' during the course of 2021.
The 32-year-old was asked about his compatriot Masi, who is currently under fire for his role in the controversial end to the 2021 F1 season finale. During the launch of the new McLaren MCL36, Ricciardo said:
“I think the one thing was that I feel there is too much pressure on them, to be honest. Obviously, the sport in general has a lot more exposure now, which is great in some elements but it probably puts others under pressure who probably aren’t asking for that pressure or aren’t used to it. It is hard to look back in time and think when was a race director or the stewards or whoever so much in the media. It is quite unique and kind of unknown territory.”
The eight-time Grand Prix winner went on to add, saying:
“That was... I don’t know if the word is unfair or what, but I think that was where there was already a bit of a ripple in whatever the situation. It highlighted some of the stuff too much and then put pressure on the next situation more. It already just felt a little bit intense and it felt like everybody should probably take a step back. Obviously, we are all assigned roles and whatever and it is like, well that person is here for a reason, that person is there, let them do it. At times, there was a lot of interference that made it more messy than it should have been. Less interference just in general and let people just get on with it with less pressure and see what the outcome is.”
Being away from family made 2021 'even harder', confesses Daniel Ricciardo
Daniel Ricciardo has revealed that being forced to stay away from his family during 2021 made his first season at McLaren even harder.
The Australian moved to the Woking-based team after two seasons at Renault and struggled to adapt initially. During a post-season interview with Auto Motor und Sport, Ricciardo opened up about his troubles. He said:
“It made the year even harder. The lows feel even deeper. I do have a family around me in McLaren. But not my family. It’s not even about them putting their arm around me. It’s more about switching off. A family can be a very nice sanctuary. That’s why it was hard without them.”
Daniel Ricciardo's circumstances were a result of Australia's extremely stringent laws concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. The 32-year-old was finally reunited with his near and dear ones at the end of the 2021 season.
