Daniel Ricciardo looks for consistency in back-to-back outing at Red Bull Ring
Just one week after the French Grand Prix and one of the most polished weekends from the McLaren F1 team this year, Daniel Ricciardo says he is still looking to find consistency in his form.
Speaking ahead of the Styrian Grand Prix, Ricciardo said settling in to the Red Bull Ring for the pair of races provided the opportunity to focus.
“I’m looking forward to having another race on the bounce and a double in Austria."
"It could be a wet one – maybe even for both weekends. We could get two very different races, you never know. I think it’s just a good opportunity for me to keep working on the car and myself."
Sixth has been the highest that the Australian driver has been able to reach up the finishing order this year, despite teammate Lando Norris landing on the podium.
The pair battled it out on-track at Paul Ricard, with Norris coming away victorious due to better tyre management.
"Hopefully, we can build on the performance we had in France and find some consistency we’ve been looking for," said Ricciardo.
"We’ll try and get some more points for the team in Austria. It’s close out there and every weekend counts, so we’ll be pushing hard.”
For Norris, the Red Bull Ring holds a place in his Formula 1 story.
“I’m really looking forward to going racing in Austria for the next two weeks. It’s a special place as it’s where I got my first podium in Formula 1," he said.
The Brit also complemented the team's improving consistency.
"We had two strong back-to-back results in Austria last season, so I’m hoping we can have a similar two weekends this time out."
"We can’t get ahead of ourselves as a lot of things are different from last year, like the car and tyres. We’ll go into these two races with our heads down and take it one step at a time to try and have two results like we managed in France, but also working hard on improving our qualifying performance.”
After the French Grand Prix, McLaren is third in the constructors' championship. Norris is fourth in the drivers' championship, with Ricciardo in ninth.
The Formula 1 BWT Grosser Preis Der Steiermark 2021 takes place 25-27 June at the Red Bull Ring.