04 January 2023 , 18:28
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Zak Brown says he still does not understand why Daniel Ricciardo was not able to enjoy more success in his two years racing for McLaren.
It was something of a surprise when it was announced that he would be leaving Renault for a midfield rival. Ricciardo had not even begun his second season with the French manufacturer when it was announced that he had signed for McLaren from 2021 onwards.
He had enjoyed moderate success at Renault so, clearly, he felt McLaren could only provide more opportunities. It did, of course, yield that Monza victory in his first campaign but, by and large, he struggled to get to grips with the two cars he was given and most of his results were below par.
Considering his reputation and high wages, McLaren decided enough was enough, terminated his contract a year early and have installed Oscar Piastri in his place. Both sides have publicly shouldered blame for the failed partnership, though chief executive Brown still isn't certain exactly why it didn't work out.
"We don't know," he replied when asked that very question in conversation with Speedcafe. "We've certainly analysed it. We gave it everything we've got, Daniel gave it everything he's got and our relationship with Daniel was great.
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"It was clearly disappointing for both of us as to the outcome but I think it's a bit of a great mystery as to why. I don't think Daniel knows, we don't know, we tried everything. Maybe we worked too hard. I think, ultimately, that's why we both decided to make a change because we had tried everything and we really didn't know why it wasn't clicking.
Zak Brown isn't sure where things went wrong for Ricciardo at McLaren (Getty Images)"So hopefully – a change of environment for him – he'll get his magic back because for sure he's a magical guy. You saw in Monza what he's capable of and he's done that seven other times. But we needed to make a change because we couldn't figure out what had gone wrong."
Some of Ricciardo's frustration at McLaren was borne out of not being able to match the results of Lando Norris. "I'll see sometimes what he's able to do, and I'm just like, 'Okay, I can see it, but I can't do it'. And I'm like, 'why won't it just rotate, or do that?'" he recently told The Race.
"The race pace as well... sometimes the race pace I'm like eight-tenths a lap slower. And I'm just like, how? When you're not on the limit of the car as well, that's a bigger concern for me. And even in debriefs, you'll hear from Lando 'Oh, this stint of the race, I could really feel the car was working there, it kind of came alive' where I'm just like, I never had that feeling."