2021 US GP : Post-Race reaction from Ricciardo and McLaren

McLaren had a decent US GP after Daniel Ricciardo finished the race in hard fought P5 and Lando Norris in P8 in tough conditions at Austin.

Both McLaren Drivers had a great start behind Ferraris, But only Daniel Ricciardo managed to overtake ex-McLaren driver Carlos Sainz after he was sandwiched by Papaya cars.

Norris made an ambitious run for fourth but locked up down the long back straight into Turn 12, leaving Leclerc in P4, Ricciardo fifth and Sainz, who briefly went wide at the corner, in P6. Norris’s former team mate Sainz was later forced to give the place back, did so, and regained sixth soon after.

But Sainz made huge recovery on Hard tyres, he started to mount pressure on Ricciardo– the two banging wheels on Lap 43 to leave the frustrated Ferrari driver with damage.

The Aussie came away with hard fought P5 and 10 points for team in the vital championship battle with Ferrari for P3.

DANIEL RICCIARDO (P5)

“I’m really happy. Really happy. We weren’t quicker than the Ferraris, so I’m happy to beat one of them. I had to defend pretty hard for a few laps there, so I’m happy to have held him off. It was a tricky race. I was fighting quite a bit to hold what I had, but I think on paper fifth is really good. It’s good points. We stole a little bit from Carlos [Sainz], and Valtteri [Bottas] got him at the end, so that was a bit of damage limitation. We’ll come back in Mexico and hopefully have a bit more to show against them. The fans were awesome, the crowd was sick, hopefully they enjoyed it.”

LANDO NORRIS (P8)

“A very difficult race today. The wind conditions and the temperature made it very difficult to look after the tyres, so that meant we struggled quite a bit with pace compared to the Ferraris, who were strong today.

I also think there were some areas I could’ve done better, including defending on some moves. The start was pretty exciting but we just weren’t able to stay ahead of the Ferraris in front. So, not a great day today, but we’ll pick ourselves up and look forward to Mexico. I just want to get back in the car already and keep working hard to make some progress in our championship battle.”

ANDREAS SEIDL, Team Principal

“P5 and P8 today here at COTA was pretty much everything that was on the table. We were fighting a very strong Ferrari team this weekend and did well to get ahead of at least one of them and retain P3 in the Constructors’ Championship.

A strong race for Daniel today, getting past Carlos [Sainz] on the first lap and then soaking up enormous pressure all the way to the flag. With Lando not making up any positions at the beginning of the race, it became a difficult one for him, but he stayed right there in the hunt all the way to the line.

Good job from everyone at the track this weekend who’ve put in long hours in hot conditions, well supported, as always, by everyone back at the factory and our colleagues at Mercedes HPP.

It’s been a very busy week for us in Austin. We’ve had a series of great events with our partners, sponsors and guests, and really enjoyed a fabulous atmosphere at a packed and lively COTA, filled with brilliant, enthusiastic fans. We’ll go home now, regroup and analyse the race to see how we might get even more out of this package when we come back across the Atlantic for the Mexican Grand Prix.”