COULTHARD SAYS DAN IS THE MAN FOR McLAREN
FORMER Formula One star David Coulthard has predicted Daniel Ricciardo will provide the catalyst to take McLaren to the “next level” when he joins the team next year.
But Coulthard was not as optimistic about the immediate prospects of Ferrari, declaring the Racing
Point team had a better chance of winning a race this year than the famous Prancing Horse.
Coulthard said Ricciardo had every reason to be the happiest of all the drivers on the move in 2021.
McLaren has made an encouraging start to the rebooted Formula One season, sitting third in the constructors championship behind Mercedes and Red Bull Racing, while Ricciardo’s soon-to-be new teammate Lando Norris is fourth in the drivers series.
Coulthard said McLaren was on the rise and Ricciardo would be key in helping them take the next step to becoming an F1 force again.
“McLaren are on the up, I think in many ways Daniel will be a catalyst for the next phase of that journey,” Coulthard told the In the Fast Lane podcast.
“He has got an energy and a personality, with the greatest respect to Carlos (Sainz) and the greatest respect to Lando, who are both great racing drivers and polite and they get the role that they have, which is not just about driving – you’ve got to communicate, you’ve got to make your team gel.
“But I think Daniel is one of those few drivers, who has a Tasmanian devil-type energy … he just lights up a room, he brings an energy and he has got commitment behind the steering wheel. He is one of the best racers out there.”
Ricciardo moves to McLaren next season after a two-year deal with Renault.