F1 | McLaren, James Key: “Ricciardo will be a great point of reference”

There is great anticipation in McLaren for the debut of Daniel Ricciardo, a driver who in Woking's ideas should drag the team towards the highest goals, thanks to his speed and his now long experience in the top category.

For James Key, technical director of Macca, the Australian driver will be an important point of reference for the team, being able to give precise indications on the team's level, having raced in other competitive teams such as Red Bull. Among other things, Key is ready to embrace Daniel again, a driver with whom he had already worked brilliantly during his time with Toro Rosso in 2013.

“Daniel Ricciardo will be a really good point of reference for us. I remember that it was already fantastic to work with him at Toro Rosso because he was already technically prepared and had the same approach as now. But since then he has gained a lot of experience and for us this is very important to understand where we are - Key's words as reported by GPFans.com - A direct competitor comes from us (Renault ed.) and before that he raced for a top team like Red Bull, which will certainly give him the opportunity to give us important indications for growing"

The technical director also did a confrontation between Carlos Sainz who moved to Ferrari and the incoming Ricciardo:

“Carlos when he arrived was eager to learn to become a stronger driver, seeing him now he is a highly regarded, competent and confident driver. He and Ricciardo have followed similar paths, but Daniel is more experienced, having traveled that path a few years earlier and having already won races."