Daniel Ricciardo has had "some chats" with McLaren chief executive Zak Brown amid speculation over his future with the team.
The Australian joined the papaya team for the 2021 season in the hope fresh surroundings would reigning his Formula 1 career. But apart from his Italian Grand Prix win, it was largely a difficult debut year.
Now aged 32, Ricciardo will have hoped that his second season with the team would bring more success. However, that has not been the case and the former Red Bull and Renault man looks to be at a crossroads in his career.
Pressure has come not only from fans and the media but also from above, thanks to public comments made about the racer's future by Brown. The American bluntly said that Ricciardo had not met the team's expectations, and fuelled departure rumours by claiming there are "mechanisms" in place that could make that happen.
There have been signs of improvement over the last two races, though, with Ricciardo moving closer to the sort of form which made him an eight-time race winner in F1. He ended a barren spell, stretching back to the Australian Grand Prix at the start of April, by finishing eighth to score four points in Azerbaijan.
He was one place ahead of team-mate Lando Norris in Baku, and also outperformed the Briton last time out in Canada. This time the Australian had no points to show for his work, but he was only narrowly outside the top 10 and still almost 10 seconds up the road from Norris.
Speaking about his improved form, Ricciardo revealed he had been in conversation with Brown, but denied that he had needed any motivation from the team. "We've certainly had some chats – that sounds too formal – we've spent some time together," he said. "It's not like a once-a-year thing, or once every couple of months, but it's also not like I needed a kick up the a***.
"I'm not silly. I know where my results are and I know what's good and what isn't. It's really them trying to see if there's anything they could do to help. I feel like we did have a little breakthrough after Monaco at the factory on the sim. We tried a few things. Even though our result [in Canada] wasn't good, the last couple of weekends have certainly been better and shown more promise."
