Ricciardo finished 14th in Bahrain and retired in Saudi Arabia after missing the Official Pre-Season Test with Covid-19.
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Given McLaren’s rocky start to the season, Daniel Ricciardo was relieved to score his first points of the season and do so in front of his home fans at Albert Park. Ricciardo finished 14th in Bahrain and retired in Saudi Arabia after missing the Official Pre-Season Test with Covid-19. The Australian finished P6 from P7 on the grid in Melbourne, admitting that some of his home fans were expecting another “painful” performance.
“All weekend it’s just been a step in the right direction,” said Ricciardo. “A few weeks ago in Bahrain, many home fans were thinking, ‘oh no, this is maybe going to be a painful home race for Daniel’, but it was really nice to have such a quick turnaround.”
“The team certainly found a bit in the last few weeks and that’s been really nice and encouraging, so steps, big steps in the right direction. We will keep at it, keep chipping away. As always, still things to improve,” the Aussie added.
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The Aussie went on to say that there was work still left to be done despite a positive weekend for himself and his team. “I’m happy with the progress and, as a team result, I think we executed everything we could. I think the first part of the race was positive, but there is still a bit to work on. Probably in that second stint I lost a little bit of pace on the hard tyre,” he said.
“It came back to me a little bit – but we still have a bit of understanding to do. I’ll keep working at it but generally, as a whole, the weekend’s been smooth. I’m happy to walk away with my first points of the year at home, which is also nice for the all the fans who came out here, so I’m feeling pretty content. We leave Melbourne in good spirits, which feels nice as it’s probably been four years since I left here in good spirits,” Ricciardo concluded.
The 2022 Australian Grand Prix was won by Charles Leclerc, consolidating his and Ferrari’s championship lead, while Max Verstappen retired for the second time in three races. Sergio Perez of Red Bull finished second, with Mercedes’ George Russell rounding out the podium. Melbourne’s first Australian Grand Prix in 1,100 days drew a sell-out crowd to Albert Park. On Sunday afternoon, they were treated to another thrilling show after an action-packed free practice and qualifying session.
