“Carlos was as good as he can drive a car that’s not perfect”– Lando Norris pressures Daniel Ricciardo with Carlos Sainz reference

“Carlos was as good as he can drive a car that’s not perfect”– Lando Norris gives in pressure to Daniel Ricciardo with Carlos Sainz reference.

Daniel Ricciardo’s stint at McLaren hasn’t started on the note which was initially expected. The Australian is clearly struggling with the MCL35M, but his team principal Andreas Seidl has shown support despite the setbacks.

However, Damon Hill thinks that his teammate- Lando Norris, who is having a powerful season so far, has pressured his teammate with his recent quote, which had a Carlos Sainz reference.

“I think Lando made some interesting comments saying that Carlos was as good as he can drive a car that’s not perfect, and that maybe Daniel can’t,” said Hill.

“I think that kind of lays a little bit of pressure back on to Daniel’s shoulders, if his team-mate is suggesting that he’s not a kind of driver who can adapt, and you need to be able to adapt.”

McLaren must invest in Daniel Ricciardo

Ricciardo has avoided pointing fingers at McLaren for his poor performance. Still, the Woking-based team is ready to make amends, as they have reportedly decided to get him a new chassis, and Hill has supported this decision.

“McLaren have made an investment in him,” Hill stated. “It is in their interest to find out what they need to unlock in the car to give him what he needs.”

“That was always originally what their whole idea of having an adjustable car was, that it was made to the driver, the driver was then given the tools he could use.”

“It’s no good giving a car to someone and saying, you’ve got to drive that we can’t change it, that’s not what they do,” he concluded. Meanwhile, Ricciardo was caught practising at McLaren’s sim ahead of Azerbaijan GP to achieve proficiency with his car.

Simulator, data, repeat. 🔁

Productive day at the MTC with the Honey Badger today. 🧑‍💻🏁

📷 @DanielRicciardo pic.twitter.com/GHcJueWptK

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 27, 2021

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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