F1 | Ricciardo: “I was hoping to start the season in Australia”

“I think the only thing that matters at the moment is that we have a race on the calendar,” said the Australian of McLaren. “If it were moved later in the year permanently, honestly, I wouldn't be against it. I was hoping more than anything to be able to start the season at home."

“At the end of the last one I was pretty sure we would be at Melbourne for the first race, but then the numbers related to the pandemic opened my eyes", continued the former driver Renault, protagonist of two podiums in 2020. “The only way to have a race in Melbourne was to move it to the end of the season.”

On adapting to McLaren ha aggiunto: “The whole team has to get used to the Mercedes engine. I am adapting to the team without completing tests and this is not easy. The only certain thing is that we wouldn't have been in top shape Australia. So, personally, I think that in November we will be in a totally different condition."