F1 great blames 'baggage' for Ricciardo low

1 year ago 93

Formula 1 expansive prix victor David Coulthard says Daniel Ricciardo needs to offload 'baggage' successful a bid to rediscover what made him the 'Honey Badger' successful the archetypal place.

With countryman Oscar Piastri replacing him astatine McLaren successful 2023, the forthcoming Abu Dhabi Grand Prix could beryllium Ricciardo's last quality successful Formula 1.

As yet, Ricciardo hasn't firmed up his aboriginal successful the sport, though that looks apt to beryllium arsenic a reserve operator with the squad helium took the lion's stock of his 8 wins with – Red Bull.

Despite options being limited, Ricciardo has often spoken astir a sabbatical earlier returning to the grid successful 2024.

Speaking connected the Australian Grand Prix Corporation's In The Fast Lane podcast, Coulthard said helium hopes to spot Ricciardo backmost successful Formula 1.

However, helium believes that volition necessitate a readjustment to rediscover his form.

"I deliberation helium needs to measurement away, instrumentality stock, and rediscover immoderate it was that was moving for him successful the archetypal portion of his Formula 1 travel – he's young capable and acceptable capable to beryllium capable to get backmost to that place," Coulthard explained.

"Success brings a batch of things and it brings baggage. Maybe immoderate of that baggage is truly costly decorator baggage, but it inactive has to beryllium carried, and, therefore, for immoderate radical that slows them down.

"Not that he's asking me, I would say, 'right, let's instrumentality it backmost to wherever you were. How were you surviving astatine that point? What was it that your caput was filled with?'

"Maybe he's go much focused on, I don't know, his vino concern oregon spending clip successful America, oregon immoderate it is, but thing has decidedly changed that's not allowing him to merchandise that implicit 'Honey Badger' show similar we've seen successful the past.

"Let's anticipation helium regroups, comes backmost and shows america the Daniel that we each fell successful emotion with, which is simply a high-achieving, hard-racing, straight-talking, large grinning, Aussie."

Ricciardo is connected people for his worst play successful Formula 1 to day since 2013 erstwhile helium drove for Red Bull surrogate Toro Rosso (now Alpha Tauri).

With 1 contention remaining successful the 2022 season, Ricciardo has conscionable six apical 10 finishes successful a podium-less year.

Lando Norris has soundly outperformed his McLaren teammate, qualifying up of him 19 times to Ricciardo's two.

Ricciardo has finished higher than Norris successful conscionable 5 of the 21 races to date.

Norris lies seventh successful the standings with 1 podium to his sanction and has lone been extracurricular the points connected 5 occasions.

While the Perth aviator is arguably 1 of the sport's astir fashionable figures connected the grid, axenic gait is nary substitute for personality.

"It's evidently been achy for america each to spot his struggles successful the McLaren having near Red Bull arsenic a expansive prix winner," said Coulthard.

"The Renault oregon Alpine experimentation didn't springiness him the large results.

"One triumph with McLaren – of course, successful Monza wherever Lando was 2nd – is not the consistency of results we were utilized to.

"Daniel was 1 of the astir breathtaking drivers to spot spell racing, 1 of the past of the precocious brakers, ever capable to propulsion disconnected immoderate astonishing passes.

"The show comparative to Lando doesn't lie, nary substance however affectionately we each speech astir Daniel – he's decidedly 1 of the fans' favourites – this is simply a stopwatch game, it's not a property business.

"It's bully if you've got a bully property if you're delivering, but yet that's not going to support you successful Formula 1."

Coulthard drove for Williams astatine its highest successful the mid-1990s past McLaren passim the precocious 1990s and aboriginal 2000s earlier joining Red Bull successful the mid-2000s.

In his 15-year career, Coulthard claimed 13 expansive prix wins, including 2 wins astatine his location British Grand Prix.

This weekend's season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix volition spot McLaren tally a peculiar one-off livery.

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