Daniel Ricciardo has praised Oscar Piastri’s start to his maiden Formula 1 campaign.
Piastri, who replaced Ricciardo after the latter departed McLaren at the end of 2022, has endured a mixed start to his rookie season but finished 10th last time out at the Monaco Grand Prix.
“It’s always tough when looking at a team, who are not performing where they want to be,” Ricciardo exclusively told Total-Motorsport.com. “Lando is the reference, and it’s hard to know whether 12th place is good or not.
“Although Lando touched the wall in Saudi, Oscar got through and did a good qualifying, and Saudi is not an easy track. So I think that was a good sign for him.
“Since then, sure, Lando’s had a bit of an edge, but it’s still early in Oscars‘ career you can’t probably expect too much from him yet.
“So I think he’s hit the ground running. He had a good first lap in Miami. So I think he’s been carrying himself pretty well.”
No hard feelings towards McLaren
Ricciardo’s departure from McLaren during the summer break ultimately put him out of a full-time drive in F1 for 2023 after potential moves to Alpine and Haas failed to bear fruit.
It left Ricciardo with few options, and he would ultimately settle for a reserve driver role at Red Bull for 2024.
“I think that’s the beauty of where I’m at now in my career, where I’ve done it for 10 years,” said Ricciardo. “I’m a bit more mature, and yes, we all have a bit of pride and a bit of an ego.
“But I recognise that that’s not going to help me. So I’ve been able to get past that and have some accountability on my front.
“Maybe it wasn’t the best for me, but I also probably wasn’t the best version of myself. So I’m happy that chapter’s done, and now I’m just eyes forward.”
