Formula 1 is an emotional rollercoaster. One day you can sip champagne out of your racing boot, and the other you can be under fire. The highs and lows come at you fairly quickly, and that is the story of Daniel Ricciardo’s time at McLaren.

The honey badger signed a three-year deal as he joined the Woking outfit for 2021. He jumped ship from Renault after delivering commendable results for the French manufacturers. Both Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren hoped for mutual success in this new partnership, but the story unravels bitterly for them.

Since last year, the Aussie failed to get on top of his new race car. As a result, he had a sub-par 2021 season and was already under threat coming into 2022. With the hope to change his fortune this year, Ricciardo put on the papaya uniform once again.

However, the new era orange car is still a thorn in his side. So much so that, as reported by sources, Ricciardo got slightly choked up while addressing employees at the McLaren Technology Center reaffirming his commitment to them and to Formula One.

The inconsistent results have put McLaren in jeopardy. The team faces a lot of backlash from shareholders upon poor performances and it needs to act on the same. One would think that Ricciardo’s contract is until 2023 and his seat is safe, but earlier this year McLaren’s boss, Zak Brown, revealed a mechanism in his contract to end the deal.

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Responding to all the speculation, Daniel recently took to social media and explained his stance. The driver reassured the F1 world about his dedication and the hunger that is still there. Yet, in a recent team meeting, he failed to keep himself together.

Why is Daniel Ricciardo struggling at McLaren?

The Aussie made his debut in Formula 1 in 2011 with the HRT Team. In his 11-year F1 career, he has raced for five different constructors. A throwback to Monza 2021 when David Croft commentated “He left Redbull, He went to Renault, He’s gone to McLaren, He’s gonna get the victory now! It’s McLaren and Ricciardo that win the Italian Grand Prix!”

Ricciardo is a graduate of the Red Bull junior program. His race craft was most influenced by a Red Bull car where he spent his formative racing years. But the orange car underneath him now is a whole different ball game for him.

McLaren’s executive director of racing, Andrea Stella confirmed this by saying “What we kept is some characteristics of our car that make it very special to drive, which we see with the experience Daniel is going through because he came from the opposite end in terms of how you would like to drive a Formula 1 car”

To break down his driving style, the driver from Perth likes to carry speed into the corner, expecting a lot of front end from his car. Whereas, the McLaren car understeers and does not suit Riccardo’s technique.

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For many years, we have known him as the ‘last of the late breakers’ and we hope to see his magic return. The focus of the 33-year-old is on the second half of the season that is yet to unfold.