Daniel Ricciardo was pleased to get back into the points in Singapore last weekend, but it also highlighted the harsh reality of his season.
The 33-year-old had previously managed a best finish of P6 in Melbourne in the third round of the season, and had scored points in another three of the 13 races between then and last weekend.
It has been another tough year for Ricciardo, who joined McLaren at the end of last year, and he has struggled to find consistency in a car that has not quite been working with him.
Unable to make the partnership work, McLaren and Ricciardo agreed to part ways at the end of this season over the summer, and the eight-time race winner is out of a drive for 2023 as it stands.
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Ricciardo was eliminated in the first qualifying session in wet conditions last weekend, but he made an exceptional recovery in more changeable weather on Sunday.
He climbed up into the top five, one place behind team-mate Lando Norris, who at one stage was pressuring Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz for the final podium spot.
The haul of 22 points was the British side’s best of the season, and Ricciardo was asked ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix to sum up his emotions following a solid evening at the office.
“Relieved… happy… pleased… what’s word association?” smiled Ricciardo in the press conference.
“It was certainly…”
Max Verstappen then appeared to lean over and whisper “horny” to his former Red Bull team-mate, sending the Aussie into a fit of laughter as he tried to answer the question.
“Just yes, very good,” continued Ricciardo.
“It’s one of those ones where I was like, I was obviously happy… it was honestly a bit sad that I haven’t had a top five this year.
“So, it was good to get that, but it was also like the sad reality of, ‘oh wow, it’s been quite a tough year.
“But of course, just to get back to the team after as well – and obviously Lando had a great race – so for both of us to be top five, it was just like a wholesome environment that we’d certainly missed on those Sunday nights – we hadn’t had many of those.”
Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon both retired from the race with engine issues last weekend, so the points swing over Alpine took McLaren back into fourth in the Constructors’ Standings.
“It’s the sport huh,” said Ricciardo.
“It can turn around just as quickly as a couple of hours on a Sunday, and obviously it’s put us back into the fight, which obviously was good.
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“It felt like it was starting to slowly get away from us, but a big weekend has got us right back there.
“So, [we’re] happy and [we’ll] try to take it down to the wire.”
Ricciardo is being heavily linked with a Mercedes reserve role next season, as he chances of a full-time drive with Alpine, Williams or Haas wear ever thinner.