Mark Webber says he'll beryllium "highly surprised" if Daniel Ricciardo is incapable to flooded the problems he's presently facing adapting to his McLaren.
Ricciardo has struggled done the 2021 season since joining McLaren from Renault (now Alpine), consistently disconnected the gait of teammate Lando Norris.
It's been a changeless root of vexation for Ricciardo and the archetypal clip successful his vocation that he's been truthful acold down his teammate connected outright speed.
The Australian hasn't recorded a azygous top-five decorativeness successful 9 races this year. Norris, by contrast, has been successful the top-five 8 times, including 3 podiums, as good arsenic qualifying connected the beforehand enactment successful Austria.
Ricciardo has antecedently spoke astir his trouble adapting to the braking characteristics of the car, with Webber noting that that's conscionable astir the worst occupation for a operator to have.
"It's been a challenging clip for him. I'm not a gambling man, but if I was I would person mislaid my $5 connected Daniel's results this year," Webber told Wide World of Sports.
"He conscionable can't get connected apical of the car close now, peculiarly the introduction to the corners and that is 80 per cent of our job. It's similar the backswing for a golfer, oregon footwork for a cricketer.
"Entry to the country is everything, helium conscionable can't get that dialled successful and the remainder of the country is truly challenging."
Ricciardo has astatine slightest not been blameworthy of over-driving the car portion helium adapts, having had lone 1 superior clang - erstwhile helium deed the partition successful qualifying successful Azerbaijan - and finishing each contention of the play truthful far.
"He's not truly making immoderate errors but outright speed, helium conscionable can't crook it connected astatine the moment," Webber said.
"But there's excessively overmuch people for this excessively spell connected for excessively long. He'll get connected apical of it.
"We speech astir MMI - Man Machine Interface - he's going to person to enactment harder. The lone mode is forward.
"But he'll get it sorted, I'll beryllium highly, highly amazed if helium doesn't."
Webber pointed retired that with the method regulations changing importantly for 2022, the caller cars volition beryllium expected to make their thigh times successful a antithetic mode to this year's cars.
That's apt to beryllium bully quality for Ricciardo, with the 2022 cars improbable to transportation implicit the characteristics that person troubled him truthful overmuch this season.
Webber besides praised the performances of Norris, who has delivered coagulated points successful each contention this season. The Australian said the 21-year-old volition beryllium a superior contender for galore years, alongside Charles Leclerc, George Russell and, of course, Max Verstappen, who are each 23 years-old.
"The aboriginal of the athletics is precise agleam with those guys each astir the aforesaid age," Webber said.
Not truthful agleam is the aboriginal of the Australian Grand Prix, which past week was cancelled for a 2nd consecutive year.
Originally moved from March to November, the lawsuit has present been called disconnected altogether, with attraction present turning to a imaginable contention successful April adjacent year.
It joins races successful Singapore and Canada which person been incapable to spell up during the pandemic, though Webber points retired galore European countries person been capable to big races without incident.
"It is simply a large blow," Webber said.
"It would person been superb to person an lawsuit down determination successful Melbourne, aft the cancellation successful 2020. When it was postponed earlier this year, everyone thought it would beryllium harmless to spell for a day successful November.
"It's tough, there's been astir 30 races since we near Australia successful March past year, F1 are doing an exceptional job.
"It's been a phenomenal effort from everybody progressive successful the industry, it's been truly special.
"The Grand Prix radical successful Melbourne did everything they could but unfortunately, it wasn't enough."
Melbourne has a declaration to big a Formula One contention done until 2025 and Webber believes F1 volition beryllium keen to return, contempt what helium calls "hiccups" of the past 2 years.
"I deliberation the dialog is inactive healthy, evidently we person 1 of the champion events successful the world, if not the best. That's wherefore it's pugnacious to spot the contention cancelled," helium said.
"Obviously governments travel and go, the existent authorities is beauteous supportive of the event, but evidently not to the last span we expected to cross.
"We'll effort and spell again adjacent year."
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