A mistake made by McLaren in Spain's qualifying could be a "line in the sand" moment that triggers a Daniel Ricciardo resurgence, says respected Formula 1 commentator Tom Clarkson.
Ricciardo was one of the final drivers to leave the pits for his second run in Barcelona and was stuck behind Fernando Alonso's Alpine, leaving him unable to start his flying lap before the appearance of the chequered flag.
One more lap would have given the former Red Bull and Renault driver a chance to improve his starting position on the grid, but he was locked in to starting seventh due to McLaren's blunder.
Ricciardo has had an underwhelming start to his three-year McLaren tenure, having been outraced by junior teammate Lando Norris in the first three grands prix - in Bahrain, Italy and Portugal - and languishing in seventh in the standings on 24 points after the first four rounds. The Western Australian then beat Norris for the first time this season in Spain.
However, Clarkson believes McLaren's failure late in Spain's qualifying could enable Ricciardo and his new team to "move on together", resulting in a rise in performance.
"Nice for him in a way that McLaren made a bit of a mess in qualifying. They've completely held their hand up," Clarkson said on the F1 Nation podcast.
"He didn't get his final run in Q3 because they timed it wrong and he just didn't cross the line in time.
"Yes, he's come in for a bit of criticism recently - 'Why are you taking so long to get up to speed (at a new team)?' - but actually, when the team drops the ball as well, he's probably thinking, 'All right, we've all had our moments, let's move on together'.
"This might be the line in the sand for him where he really comes good."
Ricciardo has conceded that he had never expected instant success at McLaren.
Young teammate Norris snared third place at Imola but Ricciardo is still chasing his first podium finish since snagging third for Renault at the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
F1 Nation podcaster Natalie Pinkham leapt to Ricciardo's defence, saying the 31-year-old is performing better than many are suggesting.
"When you look at the stats he's still 3-1 outqualified Lando, his first four races at a new team," Pinkham said.
"That's really impressive when you consider how much you do need to adapt when you join a new team."
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from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/motorsport/news-2021-formula-1-spanish-grand-prix-daniel-ricciardo-lando-norris-mclaren/4252c54e-2ed6-4d4e-af61-2ae2a87dbf0b
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