Daniel Ricciardo admits he’s open to the possibility of doing sim racing like his teammate Lando Norris.
During the lockdown ahead of the delayed 2020 F1 season, several drivers including Norris, Max Verstappen, Charles Leclerc and more took part in virtual races using their simulators at home. Ricciardo was not one of those to get involved as racing online has never appealed to him.
However, the Australian is remaining open-minded about the possibility of trying it out.
“I have thought about it,” Ricciardo told Auto Motor Und Sport when asked if his avoidance of sim racing could be a disadvantage.
“At the beginning I always said: I don’t want to have a simulator at home because I have something better to do on the free weekends. These virtual races have never excited me.
“But I don’t want to be narrow-minded here either. Maybe it really is a help. That’s something you’d have to find out.
“It could be that you learn something from it, but also that you get into bad habits. But Max, Lando and Charles are very active there, and maybe it does help.
“It’s still not my thing, but I’m not going to ignore it, I’m going to give it a try.”
Ricciardo may perhaps be hoping that trying sim racing could be beneficial in terms of continuing to become more comfortable with his real-life McLaren car after some difficulties adjusting since joining the team this season.
The 32-year-old has mostly been outperformed by Norris so far during 2021, with the Briton currently in fourth place in the Drivers’ World Championship on 101 points whilst Ricciardo is in eighth place with 40 points.
However, the Australian has showed signs of improvement at times and, with 14 more races lined up on the calendar, there is still plenty of the season remaining in which to turn things around.
