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McLaren and Ricciardo parted ways just over 12 months ago, with a season remaining on his three-year deal following two predominantly difficult campaigns with the team bar a stand-out Italian Grand Prix win in 2021.
It was not what either McLaren or the 34-year-old anticipated when he signed up, only for the partnership to dissolve as the team was unable to marry its car to the driving style of Ricciardo, who was forced to attempt changes that did not work, and left him doubting whether he had lost his way.
Red Bull quickly recruited Ricciardo, initially as a third driver, as well as utilising him for promotional and marketing activities, before a tyre test at Silverstone in early July helped thrust him back into F1 with AlphaTauri at the expense of Nyck de Vries.
Ricciardo’s season was disrupted after breaking a bone in his left hand during a crash in practice for the Dutch GP, ruling him out of five races before returning for the final handful of events.
Brown insists there was never any lingering animosity towards Ricciardo over his departure and the fact it did not work out between him and the team.
“I’m very happy Daniel’s back in Formula 1,” said Brown, speaking to selected media, including Speedcafe.
“Daniel has always been great to work with, always been a great friend. It was never a divorce that made anybody happy.
“So I’m very happy he’s back on the grid. We still exchange notes on a somewhat regular basis, so I’m very happy we’ve ended up maintaining a good relationship.”
Following Ricciardo’s exit, the recruitment of Oscar Piastri is viewed as a piece of the wider McLaren puzzle.
There was a change in leadership as Andreas Seidl was replaced as team principal by Andrea Stella, who immediately overhauled the technical department.
In the middle of the year, a new state-of-the-art wind tunnel went online, with its effects likely to be viewed with next year’s car.
McLaren’s improvement with its MCL60 this year means over the final 14 grands prix after the introduction of upgrades in Austria, the team and Lando Norris would have finished second in the constructors’ and drivers’ championship if the season had started at that point.
Brown could not be happier with the way McLaren is taking shape and the platform it has built going into 2024.
“We have the team,” said Brown, “and I think we have the resources and the technology.
“We now just need to continue to push forward with the performance and the culture. The pitstops are great because I think they illustrate how well the team is working together.
“So we just have to get that pitstop culture in every single part of the racing team, and I think we’re there.”
Offering a different take on where he feels McLaren is at, he added: “Andrea has this world championship material terminology that he uses in a pie chart.
“It started at half green, a quarter amber, and a quarter red, and the green is now at 75 percent, with the amber and the red reduced.
“I think we just need a little bit more time to get it to all green.”
