“Daniel Ricciardo is six-tenths slower than Lando Norris” – Why is Australian’s driving style not working?

Daniel Ricciardo is constantly getting outperformed by Lando Norris in the current season but what is the reason behind it?

Daniel Ricciardo has only been able to score 11 points after seven races of the 2022 season. Meanwhile, his teammate Lando Norris has bagged 48 points in the same car.

Ricciardo has been struggling to adjust to the MCL36 due to which there are even speculations that he might not have a seat next season.

A tough day for @DanielRicciardo. We’ll take learnings and we go again in Monaco. 👊

We’re always behind you, DR! 🧡 pic.twitter.com/NXiGdVfjQr

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 22, 2022

He has undoubtedly fallen short of the expectations of the McLaren team with his constant poor results this season. McLaren boss Zak Brown even hinted that due to these reasons the team might even axe the Australian driver before his contract ends in 2023.

But what is the reason behind his struggles and why is he unable to adjust his driving style to this car.

Also Read: F1 Twitter blasts the McLaren driver for having his worst F1 season since 2013

Why Daniel Ricciardo is struggling?

On average, Norris is six-tenths faster than his Australian teammate. But Ricciardo has not always struggled to adjust to the car previously in his career.

He had some glorious years when he raced at the Red Bull F1 team. The Milton-Keynes team provided him with a great car with incredible aerodynamics but the Renault engine was not a good mix. This made the car quicker in the corner but slower on the straights.

But this setup fitted Ricciardo’s driving style. The Red Bull car had more grip and was more stable on the brakes. This helped him move quickly through the corners and increase the gap.

But the car that he is driving now has a stronger rear end and understeers a lot more. Telemetry shows that Ricciardo is not confident on the brakes at all.

Due to this he is losing time on the corner exits and lifts the throttle unnecessarily. He can’t adjust his driving style to this car because it’s the opposite of what he’s been driving previously.

Also Read: Daniel Ricciardo has a McLaren driver’s worst start to a season since Stoffel Vandoorne in 2018