McLaren is the latest team to break the night curfew. F1 has imposed night curfews so that teams don’t work on their cars after the end of the day.

FIA gave every team two individual exceptions to break the curfew in the entire season. McLaren broke the curfew because they had a sensor issue on the gearbox of Daniel Ricciardo’s car. FIA stated technical directive regarding the issue,

McLaren have taken a step back- Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo has stated that McLaren seemed to have taken a step back. The Woking-based outfit are looking a bit behind their midfield rivals.

According to Planetf1, McLaren had to break night curfew to work on their gearbox, which could be a reason for their loss of performance.

Things were looking like business as usual for McLaren in FP1 when both their drivers finished in the Top-10. But in the afternoon session, as the track temperature rose, Ricciardo and Norris struggled to get the hold of the car and manage their tires.

“The morning was alright, I think we got off to a good start,” the Aussie said. “The afternoon a bit trickier, we’re still not sure really why we lost the pace.

“The track did change a bit, I know track temp did come up nearly 10°C so it certainly has a bit of an effect on the balance. But yeah, we seem to have maybe taken a step back and the others a step forward,” said Ricciardo.

When asked if the sudden loss of car performance worries the under-confident Aussie, “I’m not concerned, but for sure we’ll look into it this evening and try and understand that and come out tomorrow and show the speed we did this morning,” said Daniel.

Read More: Daniel Ricciardo’s most embarrassing moment

Can Ricciardo mark a comeback on Saturday at Paul Ricard?

Daniel Ricciardo has not hit his peak form driving for McLaren. The Woking-based outfit has done everything to make the Aussie feel comfortable and at home with the car. But the honey badger has struggled to gain confidence in the car.

French Grand Prix presents a pleasant opportunity for both McLaren and Daniel to get back on form and challenge at the front.

The last time F1 went to a traditional circuit, Ricciardo performed really well at the Spanish Grand Prix. Fans of Australian driver would expect the same from him on Saturday to qualify higher up the field.

What do you think? Will McLaren bounce back on Saturday? Comment below to let us know.