RICCIARDO – FIRST DAY IN MCLAREN WITH HIS NEW TEAM POLO SHIRT

Daniel Ricciardo exchanged his Renault for a McLaren and can be seen on the website for the first time in McLaren clothing.

It’s like an excited kid in his first day of school, Daniel is physically unable to stop smiling, I love it.

Daniel Ricciardo made a positive impact during his two seasons with Renault, and the irony is that the Australian has helped create a much better team – a team he will compete against with McLaren this year.

Ricciardo shocked many people, including the bosses at Red Bull, when he revealed in August 2018 that he would not renew his contract with the elite squad but instead head to Renault for 2019 and 2020.

Renault struggled last year, but it has improved a lot this year, and Ricciardo has finished on the podium twice. Renault team principal Cyril Abiteboul credits Ricciardo for much of the success.

“He’s given a lot,” Abiteboul said prior to the season finale Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

“What he’s given first and foremost as a driver, he’s been remarkable, in particular this year. I think there is no doubt about the progression of the team this year. It’s very much a credit to Daniel who’s been clearly leading the charge of the team. And behind him a group of people and a group of mechanics and engineers who are doing a remarkable job on track.

“Off track, obviously we know Daniel is a great ambassador and a team leader. He has clearly been instrumental to the changes that we did last year when we had altogether a disappointing season.

“So, I’ll say that frankly when he joined we knew that it would take a bit of time, that he was not coming into a turnkey organisation. I remember those exact words I said to Daniel back in the first meeting back in 2018. It was not a turnkey organisation, but he made an impact. We are so different today to what we were two-and-a-half years ago when we decided to form this partnership.

“So, in that respect, frankly, it has delivered. It has delivered positively, and the irony in all of this is that I believe we are a much stronger team now, and he will have to race a much stronger team next year, and obviously all of that we will be missing. But we’re also glad to see him in a great team, and we look forward to an exciting battle against McLaren and Daniel next year.”

Just like he shocked many people by declaring he would switch from Red Bull to Renault in 2019, Ricciardo did the same in May with the news that he will move to McLaren in 2021.

“Daniel is someone that we’re very excited to have join us,” said McLaren CEO Zak Brown. “He’s obviously a proven race winner. He’s somebody we tried to get into our car a couple of years ago. Lando (Norris) continued to mature. He has had a great second season, and I think the combination of our driver line up is awesome and looking forward to both of them working together.

“I don’t think there is a combined driver line-up that will be more exciting next year on and off the track. I’m very confident we have got a very strong driver line-up.”

Ricciardo says that 2020 was his most satisfying season since 2016.

“My enjoyment is really high at the moment,” he says. “I am loving racing, and that was also heightened from the lockdown and missing the competition during a longer off-season. Having it taken away made my desire to come back a lot stronger.

“Last year it was still fun even though we did not really get the results that we were after initially. It was still fun to try to build up a new team. This year has definitely been more fun because that building is deliberate, and we had really good results.”

FIRST DAY IN MCLAREN – RICCIARDO FIRST DAY IN MCLAREN – RICCIARDO

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