Soon after Daniel Ricciardo arrived at McLaren in 2021, many regarded him as the senior figure of the team. However, the Australian failed to live up to the high expectations. The Honey Badger would often struggle to match inexperienced teammate Lando Norris, who was just competing in his third full season in F1 back in 2021. As a result of the Briton’s outstanding performances, McLaren signed him to a new $7.6 million-a-year contract.
Norris signed the extension early in 2021, a time at which McLaren were afraid that they may lose their upcoming talent. Soon after he signed the lucrative deal, Norris immediately revealed the targets he wanted to achieve with the team.
As quoted by Ben Hunt’s Lando Norris: A Biography book, Norris said, “I want to be that kind of guy who can lead the team, who has been there for many years, who has helped them in bad time times and who has helped them achieve the good times and that’s why I’m still here, that’s why I signed for some more years, because I want to be in that position.”
McLaren in hindsight did make the right decision to stick with Norris as the Briton has been outstanding for them in the last few seasons. Moreover, since Red Bull had Norris on their radar, McLaren could not afford to lose the 24-year-old to a rival.
As it so happened, Norris began to deliver immediately after he signed the contract extension. The very next race after he extended his deal, he finished on the podium at the Monaco Grand Prix despite starting from P5. As for Ricciardo, he had a forgettable race as he finished all the way back in 12th.
Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo had an amicable relationship
Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo had a strong relationship at McLaren. They often shared good times both on and off the track and rarely battled each other during races.
However, things didn’t start so well for them as Norris was reported to be nervous before Ricciardo’s arrival. This was primarily because of the Honey Badger’s track record of racing for Red Bull and Renault.
Ricciardo’s experience of battling with Max Verstappen and Sebastian Vettel gave Norris nervousness as he was getting ready to race alongside the seven-time GP winner back then. However, how things unfolded at McLaren came as a total surprise to everyone.
Norris outperformed Ricciardo in both the 2021 and 2022 F1 seasons comfortably. As a result, McLaren ultimately decided to part ways with Ricciardo after the end of the 2022 campaign and bring in Oscar Piastri as his replacement for 2023.
