Why '5/10' Ricciardo isn't giving up on his McLaren quest

Daniel Ricciardo has endured a tough start to his McLaren career. He's been comprehensively outscored by his team-mate so far, and with each passing race the explanations of his struggles can increasingly be seen as excuses. But while admitting that his on-track performances don’t merit a particularly flattering mark, Ricciardo is convinced that he will make a success of the move

Oleg Karpov Jul 2, 2021, 11:10 AM

Upd: Jul 9, 2021, 10:06 AM

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“Oh, don’t make me do that!”

In a routine McLaren interview with selected members of the media, Daniel Ricciardo is asked to give himself a grade for his performances this season.

“From an on-track point of view, like a results point of view, I wouldn't give myself too much of a flattering grade,” he says. “But I don't want to say what I think! Because that just makes me sound pretty shit.”

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Author Oleg Karpov

After attempting to study engineering, Oleg was thrown out of his Moscow university for spending more time at the racetrack as a junior press officer for the national Lada racing series than attending lectures. His first job as a journalist was at the Soviet Sport newspaper, and in 2011 he moved to Berlin to pursue a freelance career in Formula 1. He joined Motorsport.com in 2015 and became a contributor to GP Racing magazine in 2021. When it's not race week, he plays squash every Wednesday and Sunday and likes to procrastinate by playing chess, with his Elo peaking at 2099 on one of the biggest online chess platforms.