For 2 seasons Ricciardo and McLaren tirelessly labored to make the Australian comfy within the Woking squad’s equipment.
McLaren’s present lineage of automobiles has a infamous low-speed weak point, which the crew nonetheless hasn’t been capable of tackle, and its drivers have been pressured to compromise their braking and cornering fashion greater than they want.
And whereas Lando Norris, and now Oscar Piastri, have been capable of drive across the weaknesses to attain a string of podiums at circuits that go well with the present MCL60, Ricciardo by no means managed to beat the discrepancy between how its predecessors wanted to be pushed and his personal driving fashion.
Quick ahead to the second half 2023 and AlphaTauri, which has handed Ricciardo a lifeline after half a season on the sidelines, has made related observations to McLaren concerning the Australian’s wants.
“We will see that he drives the automobile otherwise to a number of the different drivers that we have labored with, and with Yuki [Tsunoda],” head of trackside engineering Jonathan Eddolls defined on Sunday earlier than the race.
“The best way he assaults the corners, the best way he hits the brakes. The driving fashion is completely different.”
Photograph by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Pictures
Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren MCL36
However whereas Ricciardo chased his tail at McLaren to cut back his deficit to Norris, which finally proved counterproductive and sapped him of confidence, he now seems to have discovered a automobile that does give him the pliability to deploy his pure driving fashion.
Ricciardo’s wrist fracture at Zandvoort significantly delayed that course of. Throughout his five-race lay-off AlphaTauri introduced a gradual stream of incremental upgrades to its AT04, which meant that it had to return to fundamentals in Austin to get Ricciardo in control with a automobile that was considerably completely different to the one he drove on his preliminary comeback.
The dash format’s restrictive parc ferme guidelines meant Ricciardo was quickly caught with a set-up that wasn’t optimum as he completed a lapped fifteenth.
“We had that the query mark [in Austin], which is why we form of put him again on Yuki’s setup, as a result of the automobile has developed so much since we introduced many aero updates and traits had modified,” Eddolls added.
“After which he was caught as a result of it was parc ferme, in order that was the frustration of that weekend.
“We got here out of it understanding that in all probability there was extra efficiency within the bundle that we did not have the chance to unlock.”
Photograph by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Pictures
Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri AT04
In Mexico, nevertheless, Ricciardo and his engineers had the posh of three common observe periods to fine-tune his automobile.
The Faenza crew discovered a set-up breakthrough that, along with its track-specific strengths, enabled Ricciardo to take a shock fourth place in qualifying, only a tenth behind Max Verstappen.
He transformed that right into a seventh place within the race on the tail of Mercedes’ George Russell, which might have been fifth if it hadn’t been for the timing of a mid-race pink flag. The stoppage allowed Russell and Norris to bolt on the sooner medium tyres, which Ricciardo had no usable set of.
“Coming right here as a standard and free weekend has allowed us to spend the a lot of the Friday engaged on completely different set-ups to attempt to unlock a bit extra potential from the automobile primarily based round his driving fashion,” Eddolls commented.
“We’re not speaking large numbers, however we will see variations in the best way he drives. And he makes the lap time in several components of the nook. And due to this fact the automobile exposes completely different weaknesses to the best way Yuki drives it.
“One among his large limitations has been the entrance finish, so the [set-up] instructions have been capable of enhance the entrance finish of the automobile for him.”
AlphaTauri has proven glimpses of promise since its newest spherical of frequent ground upgrades and absolutely exploited its mechanical grip on the excessive altitude Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Photograph by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Pictures
Daniel Ricciardo, AlphaTauri AT04
Whereas its eye-catching Mexico type just isn’t anticipated to hold over to 2023’s remaining races to the identical diploma, Eddolls believes Ricciardo’s set-up good points will persist, and they’re going to additionally profit Tsunoda.
“I feel that this may proceed with Daniel,” he stated. “However we have additionally received to recollect Yuki has been robust right here. He missed out on FP1 with Isack [Hadjar] within the automobile.
“By the tender tyre run in FP2 he was in control and almost matching Daniel. It is not like this set-up course goes to unlock potential only for Daniel.”
When requested why AlphaTauri was capable of make issues work for Ricciardo when McLaren couldn’t, Eddolls thinks the AT04 lack of particular weaknesses, in comparison with McLaren’s low-speed struggles, has made it a extra benign automobile to deal with.
That in flip has given Ricciardo a steady baseline to additional extract efficiency from, somewhat than having to stroll on eggshells.
“I am unable to communicate for McLaren, however the automobile we have got behaves,” he defined. “Perhaps we have not fairly received the load or effectivity of a number of the prime groups, however there aren’t any large basic weaknesses.
“The truth that it does the identical factor each lap, nook to nook, has given him the boldness to have the ability to throw the automobile into the corners and is aware of that it will stick and that it’s going to do the identical factor each time.
“It is a automobile that is given him the boldness to have the ability to push it nearer to the restrict than perhaps he had at McLaren.
Increasing on his Mexico progress a buoyant Ricciardo stated: “The course we went with the set-up, I knew that might enable me to only have a bit extra confidence with the automobile.
“Final week Yuki received 5 factors and it was big for the crew. Everybody was cartwheeling and backflipping. So every week later to get six factors, I am very joyful.
“For positive there are some issues I can nonetheless enhance on, however general I am very, very pleased with the weekend.”
