After more than a year of struggles at McLaren, where he has more often than not been in the shadow of Lando Norris, there finally appears to be a glimmer of hope that things are getting better.
His improved pace in Baku put him in the window where McLaren had to intervene with team orders as his strategy played out, and there is an impression that Ricciardo has turned the corner in understanding what he needs to get the most from his F1 car.
