Daniel Ricciardo searching for battle with Alpine at Dutch Grand Prix
Daniel Ricciardo is predictably upbeat ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix but says McLaren has a lot to improve on from their performance in Belgium.
Daniel Ricciardo on the grid at Spa. (McLaren Racing)
"I’m looking forward to Zandvoort," said the Australia.
"It’s an awesome circuit and has such a fun, almost festival-like atmosphere which is great for your mood going into the weekend."
"It’s more of an old-school circuit with interesting features like Tarzan and the ability to overtake there, so I’m excited to get on track and see how different it is from last year in the new cars."
When discussing the jump from last weekend, Ricciardo shifts into a gear that has been all too familiar this year.
The message: we aren't performing how we would like to, but we will learn from it and move forwards.
"Last weekend was not what we wanted it to be, but we’ve bounced back before so we can definitely do the same this time around."
Teammate Lando Norris recovered from 17th on the grid to finish 12th, while Ricciardo slipped from 7th to 15th by the chequered flag.
A rear wing change and struggles in the warm conditions were blamed for the team's lack of pace, with both drivers commenting last week on the difficult positions they were left in.
Ricciardo's optimism is unshakeable as the team prepares for the second leg of the triple-header, this week at Zandvoort.
"We’ve got some good learnings from Spa which we can use for this weekend so hopefully we come out a bit better and can properly battle with the Alpines.”
"I’ve spent the last couple of days in Amsterdam resetting, eating stroopwafels, and looking at how we can improve for the coming weekend. "
