Daniel Ricciardo is impatient to get behind the wheel of McLaren's new contender, hoping the 2022-spec MCL36 is a machine that will suit his driving style.
Last year, Ricciardo had transferred from Renault to McLaren with solid ambitions, but the Aussie suffered a difficult first half of the season with his new team, often trailing teammate Lando Norris in qualifying and on race day as he struggled to adapt to McLaren's 2021 car.
However, after F1's summer break, the Aussie improved his form and even managed to snatch a remarkable win at the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, returning himself to the top step of the podium for the first time since Monaco 2018 and putting his team back in the winner's circle for the first time since Brazil 2012.
But as Formula 1's ushers in a new era following the introduction of an entirely new set of technical regulations, Ricciardo hopes the sport's new generation of ground effect cars suits his driving style.
"I hope it does!" the 32-year-old told the media last week.
"With change comes optimism, because maybe this will be perfect for me, maybe this car will do all the things that I like a car to do.
"So, for sure, there's optimism with that, and optimism that there will be some change in the field as well with teams or with drivers."
© McLaren
Only time will tell if McLaren has rolled out a top contender, but Ricciardo admits that the uncertainty actually creates an exciting feeling of anticipation.
"Until we hit the track, we don't really know, but the thought of it now is exciting," he said.
"I think, last year, I improved as the year went on, but I can't honestly say that I was still driving the best I'd ever driven.
"Having this change is also a little bit of an optimistic kind of approach, or a refresher for me, to think, 'OK, maybe these cars now will allow me to do that better'.
"Time will tell, but I am excited to have a new generation."
Asked whether F1's wholesale regulations changes will feel like he'll be racing in a different category, Ricciardo said: "Maybe not that extreme. It's enough to know that there's a big change here, there's a bit going on.
"I probably wouldn't go as extreme as saying it feels like a category switch.
"A lot of driving is obviously through feel and yes, the lap time tells one story, but a lot of it is just what you can do to a car with your feel, with your steering, with your brakes, and how much tolerance that has until you get to the limit.
"It just feels for now that there are different limits or the limits are in different places," added the eight-time Grand Prix winner who has sampled McLaren's new car in the simulator.
"That's the kind of adaptation process that's going on at the moment."
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