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“Lando Norris hasn’t driven for another team” – 8 GP winner Daniel Ricciardo reveals why he has been outperformed by his teammate

Samriddhi Jaiswal
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"Lando Norris hasn’t driven for another team" - 8 GP winner Daniel Ricciardo reveals why he has been outperformed by his teammate

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed the reasons he believes he has been outperformed by his teammate Lando Norris on multiple occasions.

As Daniel Ricciardo gets ready to part ways with McLaren and probably the sport at the end of the 2022 season, he has admitted the reasons for his defeat with the team.

The Honeybadger joined the Woking-based team in the 2021 season and has since struggled to deliver an impressive performance. On top of that, he has been outperformed by his teammate Lando Norris on multiple occasions.

While the Australian driver has given up on the battle with his teammate or the car and has accepted defeat he has cited two reasons why Norris can make the car work but he can’t.

Speaking to The Race, Ricciardo believes that because Norris has driven for only one team in his entire F1 career, the young Briton has an edge over the Honeybadger in terms of performance.

The 33-year-old Aussie elaborated on his theory and said that Norris has driven multiple variations of the McLaren f1 car over the years. Therefore, in a way, the 23-year-old is more in tune with some of the elements of the car.

“So obviously, he’s good. And there’s an element of ‘ignorance is bliss’,” he added.

Also Read: Lewis Hamilton claims W13 isn’t the worst $12 million F1 car he ever had

“The kid’s good” – Daniel Ricciardo does not undermine Norris’ talents

Another reason that the Honeybadger believes has been a factor in his underwhelming performance in comparison to his teammate is Norris’ talents.

Ricciardo admits that Norris is a talented driver and he would never take that credit away from him. The Australian believes that if he does, he is just a sore loser.

The 8 GP winner showered praise for his young teammate and revealed that Norris does not lack knowledge of race cars from a technical point of view.

Also Read: Daniel Ricciardo recalls watching $200 million worth UFC star in Las Vegas fight

What problems did the Honeybadger face with McLaren?

There are several reasons that led to Ricciardo’s downward spiral with McLaren such as the problems with both the McLarens, the incompatibility of the car with the Australian’s driving style and McLaren’s old wind tunnel.

While Ricciardo admits that he certainly has weaknesses and the McLaren car has exposed it to the world, he does not have answers to all the questions.

The 33-year-old revealed that along with the team, he has been trying to find a way to progress but there are always unforeseen hurdles and while he is an optimistic person, he can’t be naive.

Also Read: Lotus unleash 2000 HP Hypercar to celebrate 50 years of Emerson Fittipaldi’s F1 win

About the author

Samriddhi Jaiswal

Samriddhi Jaiswal

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Samriddhi Jaiswal is an F1 editor and writer at The SportsRush. She started her career as a business journalist but soon found her calling in lights out here we go! Samriddhi has been a Ferrari fan even when her interaction with F1 was occasional. Her first real experience with the thrilling sport came when Charles Leclerc clinched his iconic victory in Spa and Monza and painted the track red. Now, a Tifosi, Samriddhi is a hardcore fan of the prancing horse and can relate to the chaos within the Italian camp and also admires Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. Off the track, she finds her home in books and musical instruments.

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