Ricciardo’s blunt 2021 report card

Ricciardo, who spent a mixed two-year stint at Renault after leaving Red Bull, joined McLaren this season to take the seat of Carlos Sainz when the Spaniard moved to Ferrari.

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Sainz ended up pipping Ricciardo’s teammate Lando Norris for fifth in the drivers’ standings — the first driver behind both pairs of Mercedes and Red Bull stars as Ferrari pinched third in the constructors’ championship.

Norris enjoyed a brilliant campaign, scoring four podiums as he dragged McLaren into fourth in the constructors’ standings as he finished sixth on the individual front.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc separated Norris and Ricciardo (eighth) in the championship race, but the Aussie will have been disappointed to finish 45 points behind his young colleague — while just five-and-a-half points separated the Ferraris. Ricciardo also finished just five points ahead of AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly, in ninth.

Norris used his comfort in the McLaren to school Ricciardo across the season, claiming a qualifying advantage of 14-8 and race advantage of 15-7 over his much more experienced teammate.

Although Ricciardo did claim his first race win — and eighth overall — since Monaco in 2018, the 32-year-old is under no illusions he still has a lot improving to do.

“Started not great, got better, but still with some dips,” Ricciardo told Autosport about his season.

“Definitely happier with the second half. But there’s still some things to work on, so I’m not, like, overwhelmed with it.

“Let’s say I made a step, but clearly I still need to make another one next year to get where I want to be, and probably more on Saturdays (in qualifying) just to give me that track position for Sunday (grands prix) and keep me out of a little bit more of a mess. So that’s what I’ll work on.”

Ricciardo struggled late in the season, finishing with points just once in his last five races and scoring only three times in the eight races after his Monza triumph.

But his debut stint with McLaren was without a doubt better than his first season at Renault in 2019, where he tallied just 54 points and finished ninth in the drivers’ championship.

Ricciardo had the best seat in the house for the season finale, sitting right behind Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton on the last lap shootout in Abu Dhabi.

While he was baffled as to why he was in that position amid the controversial safety car drama, Ricciardo’s team radio correspondence revealed his immediate feelings about the finish some claim “robbed” Hamilton of an eighth world title.

“I’m glad I’m not part of that, whatever just happened,” Ricciardo said. “Seemed, uh, pretty f***ed up.”

Earlier in the year, Ricciardo said his first season at McLaren had been “the most challenging of my F1 career”.

The Aussie struggled in adapting to McLaren’s complex braking system, especially early in the season. Next season will see new regulations brought in for F1, aiming to make the sport more competitive.

Norris said it’s a “very different car to drive” after testing the 2022 McLaren in the simulator.

“In a way not as nice as this season,” Norris told Autosport. “But I think hopefully that’s the same case with every other team as well. And we’ll see, there’s no point trying to think it’s amazing or terrible.

“You just have to do the best job you can and hopefully, next season, we go to the pre-season test with a good car.”