"The winner of this weekend would be the person or the team that I'll put money on" - Daniel Ricciardo feels the 2022 F1 Spanish GP will determine the outcome of this year's title battle

Daniel Ricciardo has predicted that the winner of the 2022 Spanish Grand Prix will be the driver or team that will secure the World Championship title this season. Charles Leclerc is currently leading the championship for Ferrari, with reigning world champion Max Verstappen in second for Red Bull. The Aussie claims that it is likely to come down to the upgrades that each team brings.

As reported by RacingNews365.com, the McLaren driver shared that he is happy to see teams other than Mercedes contending for the title for the first time in eight years. He said:

“For the sport, I’m very glad there is a battle as opposed to one person running away with it. Obviously Mercedes has been dominating, so the fact that Ferrari has taken a little bit of that role this year is big for the sport. For the health of Formula 1, it’s a good thing. It looks like it’s going to be another good one. At the moment, it looks like both teams clearly have their [preferred] tracks. Ferrari in some places are probably going to have some easy victories, like they did in Melbourne, and Red Bull will probably have a few easy ones at other tracks.”

Daniel Ricciardo further said:

“Prior to this weekend, I honestly say it’s 50:50. I would say the winner of this weekend would be the person or the team that I’ll put money on. It’s going to be down to the updates. I think this weekend will probably determine [the frontrunner] for the next few races with updates. It could sway perhaps from this weekend onwards. In a year like this, it’s probably down to consistency with reliability or driver errors. For example, Charles had his problem in Imola. At the moment it’s [between] him or Max. So I don’t think he or Max are going to be able to make too many of those errors given the way [the championship battle] is going.”

After an intense rivalry between Verstappen and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton last season, this year's Red Bull-Ferrari rivalry is shaping up to be another thrilling one.

---

McLaren believes Daniel Ricciardo could win a world championship with the team

Daniel Ricciardo has been chasing the F1 Drivers' World Championship since 2011 and McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl claims that the Aussie could achieve it. As reported by PlanetF1, Seidl hinted at a contract extension, by saying:

“We have a contract in place with Daniel until the end of next year, plus options, which means we are both in a very good place. We want to make this journey we are on together a very successful one.”

He further stated:

“Daniel has shown in the past that with the right car and the right team he can pull off race wins, so there is no reason why he should not be able to fight for world titles if we deliver from our side.”

Daniel Ricciardo took his first race win for the team at the Italian Grand Prix last season and is currently in his second season with McLaren.