McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo has had a mixed first season with the team, often struggling to match the pace of teammate Lando Norris on a saturday. Today however, despite looking set for a Q3 appearance alongside his teammate, Ricciardo narrowly missed out managing a tantalisingly close P11.

“They [the kerbs] bit me in qualifying so, that exit of turn ten I think it is, I just dropped a wheel off it and damaged the floor so, obviously it was what it was but I think in general they’re ok. I think it’s - having the same kerbs at every track, I think isn’t exciting, so to have these changes it up a little bit, so I’m not mad about it.”

This was confirmed by team boss Andreas Seidl who said:

“Unfortunately with the damage to Daniel [Ricciardo]’s floor from a kerb hit, he couldn’t show what he could do today because I think he had good pace. He couldn’t progress to quali three which I think was a shame.”

Keep your head high, @DanielRicciardo. 🍯🦡

There was awesome pace out there and you'll be flying again tomorrow. 👊#SaudiArabianGP 🇸🇦 pic.twitter.com/C3lvUxDkW1

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) December 4, 2021

Despite this, Ricciardo was keen to express his liking for the track, while admitting it has the potential to be dangerous.

“I like turn 13. It’s pretty quick, banked, you pull quite a few G’s through there so it’s a good corner, definitely an enjoyable one.

“I enjoy the track, so yeah, I don’t wanna speak negatively on it because it is good. I think the first sector, I think where Mazepin caught Hamilton this morning, I think that’s a bit sketchy. 

“That’s where we obviously rely on the teams to give us feedback, but I think for us as well we know that through those blind corners we should just carry a bit more speed and make sure we’re out of the way.”

Ricciardo continued to discuss his development with the team throughout the year, admitting he is still learning the limits of the car, especially over a single hot lap. He made it clear however that his confidence levels have been much higher throughout the second half of the season, perhaps bolstered by his shock win earlier in the year at Monza.

“I mean there’s been some performances based on still trying to get comfortable with the limit. I’ve definitely felt better the second half of the season and although it might not always show on paper, there’s an inner confidence that I do feel better with the car. I would certainly say I’m still not perfect with it yet.

“Although I’ve improved, there’s still - especially like extracting everything in one lap, that’s when you really need to be in tune and have a lot of confidence. 

“I think over the course of a race you’ve ultimately got more opportunities to make a good lap. There’s still a little bit of that but I think generally I’ve been happy with the progress but still obviously looking for more.”