Daniel Ricciardo believes that he is still losing time to Lando Norris in the high-speed corners, which is why he struggled at the Qatar Grand Prix. Ricciardo has faced a deficit to Norris for the majority of the 2021 season, though his form has improved since the summer break. However, he failed to reach Q3 at the Losail International Circuit as he qualified in 14th, whilst Norris secured sixth on the grid. Speaking to media, including RacingNews365.com , Ricciardo said: "These kind of long, medium-speed corners is just where I think our car is challenged the most, and that's where, call it the McLaren style, is the one and only style to get it through those corners quickly. "I think that's where Lando is definitely doing a better job in those corners and I'm still not quite nailing it. It's really just the way you went into the corner, combine the brake with the turn in. "Let's say, I'm trying to get it to do something, and it still turns, but it doesn't get through the corners quick. It's just half a tenth, but half a tenth in these long corners adds up to three, four-tenths. "So it's really just that, and it's definitely, call it a weakness of the car, but it's ultimately still a weakness of me not being able to get the car working well in the limited areas."
Explaining his poor start in Qatar
Ricciardo, who was forced to save fuel for the majority of the Qatar GP , lost two places on the run down to Turn 1 which pushed him down to 16th. He explained that the dust meant he couldn't see the brake boards, so he was forced to brake early, fearing he would hit the car in front. "I was in the middle [of two cars] and there's a lot of dust, so that maybe hurts a little bit of visibility," said Ricciardo. "I was like, 'OK, I can't see enough in front'. So I'm trying to look [for] brake boards and I couldn't see any. Part of me was like, 'F**k, maybe I've missed him'. So I was [thinking], 'I have to brake soon, otherwise, I'm going ten-pin bowling'. "That's what happens when you start so far back, so I guess I'll take accountability for that."
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