After a disappointing outing in Miami, McLaren left the new race track without any points. But McLaren driver, Daniel Ricciardo, believes his team is in the hunt for points as F1 goes racing in Barcelona. 

“Spain was a good race for me last year so I’m looking forward to getting back out there in the new-regulation cars and really get the most out of the MCL36,” said the Australian. 

“Having tested here back in February, we have more of an idea on what to expect under the new regulations than we do at other race weekends. It will be good to see where we can make improvements and put the upgrades we’re bringing to the test.”

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Daniel Ricciardo hasn’t had the best start to the 2022 season as he has only scored points in Australia so far. Saudi Arabia saw him retire due to an engine failure. Imola saw him collide with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the first lap. And last time out in Miami, a penalty and a track that didn’t suit MCL36 saw him finish P13. The 8-time F1 winners will be looking to bounce back to better form at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. 

McLaren bringing upgrades to Barcelona

Like every team, McLaren too has confirmed that they will be bringing upgrades to their cars. Team boss Andreas Seidl is hopeful that the changes made to the car will improve its competitiveness. 

“We are bringing some upgrades to the car for the weekend,” said the German in his official race preview. “I know it’s been an extremely busy week or so for many of the teams making changes ahead of Barcelona so it’s going to continue to be a tight fight for points.”

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Andreas noted that McLaren had done exceptionally well during the pre-season testing and will be looking forward to the upgrades as to how the car will perform.

Speaking about Miami, the McLaren boss wasn’t too happy but is looking forward to the European doubleheader. He concluded that the last few years were good as the team managed to get good results; a trend they are looking to continue this year. 

Lando Norris forgets Miami and looks forward to Barcelona

Lando Norris had a race to forget in Miami as contact with Pierre Gasly forced him to retire. “I’ve put the retirement in Miami behind me and I’m fully focused on the race ahead,” the Briton insisted.

Norris said that the team had a good track running in February. He also added that they have gathered a good amount of data until now and worked hard on the upgrades. The Briton emphasized that Miami showed they had a lot of work to get to the top. 

The Woking outfit currently sits fourth in the constructor’s championship with 46 points on the board. Do you think the McLaren camp can again start to target podiums with Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo?