“Gives Me an Excuse to Be a Kid”: Daniel Ricciardo Sheds Light on His ‘Special Relationship’ With Lando Norris Amidst Gloomy McLaren Days

Daniel Ricciardo is regarded as one of the most talented F1 drivers in today’s era1. Still, the Australian has gone through some dark patches in his career as well. He had two disappointing seasons with McLaren in 2021 and 2022 where he could not get the best out of a unsuitable car. However, one good thing that emerged out of his time in Surrey was a beautiful bromance between him and Lando Norris.

McLaren decided to recruit the services of Ricciardo when they lost their star driver Carlos Sainz to Ferrari at the end of the 2020 season. The news of the two of them teaming up had all F1 fans excited, because of their popularity. Norris and Ricciardo are two of the most fun-loving and charismatic personalities on the grid. Therefore, fans had huge expectations that they would be amazing friends.

Despite the beforementioned expectations, things got off to a rocky start, mainly due to their age difference. But with time, they developed an amazing relationship. Netflix portrayed things very differently in their series ‘Drive to Survive’. It showed that they did not really get on with each other. However, what they showed was far from the reality.

Daniel Ricciardo felt like a kid in front of Lando Norris

Daniel Ricciardo joined the ESPN F1 show called Unlapped during the Red Bull Season Launch in New York City. He was asked by Katie George about how much he was going to miss Lando Norris. He answered very proudly that it will be Norris who will be missing him more. He admitted that his relationship with Norris was one of the happier parts of his time with McLaren.

”Didn’t always enjoy the driving part of last year but I did enjoy the relationship we had last year and yeah we kind of had a laugh and certainly tried to make the car better. He’s a kid and it kind of gives me an excuse to be a kid. So I like that. I’m a big kid”
Daniel pic.twitter.com/x9iEOO3j4A

— _¹⁶ (@bliss_n16) June 7, 2023

Ricciardo said, ”Didn’t always enjoy the driving part of last year. But I did enjoy the relationship we had last year. And yeah we kind of had a laugh and certainly tried to make the car better. He’s a kid and it kind of gives me an excuse to be a kid. So I like that. I’m a big kid”

Norris too, feels the same way about Ricciardo. During a streaming session, he admitted that he misses his ex-teammate as well. “I miss Daniel,” said Norris “Of course, I miss him.”

 

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Daniel Ricciardo’s future in Formula 1

After failing to find a seat for 2023, Ricciardo had to come to terms with spending the season from the sidelines. However, he was picked up by his old employers, Red Bull as the third driver for the team.

As of now, Ricciardo claims that he is enjoying his time away from the spotlight. He can spend more time with his family and friends. He said that he wants to use this time off to recharge himself and come back even stronger. However, finding a seat on the grid next year will definitely be difficult for him as there are a lot of young talents waiting on the sidelines.