Lando Norris talks about Ricciardo’s struggle with MCL35M and his involvement in the Australian’s future in his Formula 1 career.
Daniel Ricciardo and McLaren Racing have “mutually agreed” that he would leave at the end of the 2022 Formula One season, a year before his contract expires.
Ricciardo moved from Renault to McLaren at the end of 2020, and even after winning last year’s Italian Grand Prix at Monza in a one-two finish. He has struggled to cope with his British teammate Lando Norris.
Given how highly regarded Ricciardo was when winning at Red Bull, he was afterwards sought out by Renault and McLaren.
Ricciardo’s primary argument over the last couple of seasons is that he has had trouble adapting to the car’s characteristics, an issue that has lasted into this year despite the significant changes in the regulations.
While the dominant issue in McLaren’s decision was Ricciardo’s disappointing performance this season, the Australian is 57 points behind Norris after the Belgian Grand Prix.
Ricciardo’s future makes no difference to Lando Norris
His teammate Lando Norris recently spoke to the media regarding the situation. The McLaren driver said that he was surprised by this decision.
Since Norris expected more from the eight-time F1 race winner. “It’s not me having a dig or anything but when you look at the results… if you want two people to be at the same level then you’re not surprised. It’s hard to know when to call it, I guess, which is what they’ve done.”
When asked if he was involved in any discussions about Ricciardo’s future, he said, “It makes no difference to me. It’s not my job, it’s his career, not my career.”
Ricciardo has addressed countless questions about his inconsistent performance. And the reasons why he struggled with the MCL35M or its very different successor. Norris makes it clear that it hasn’t been easy for him either.
Norris agrees with Sainz and Ricciardo about the McLaren’s performance being ‘weird’
“I think the only thing that people get extremely wrong is any opinion thinking that the car is designed around me, or suiting me more than it is him,” he states.
He further talks about how the car suited Daniel at the start of the year. The brit claims that this car doesn’t give him anything that suits his exact driving style.
“The job as a driver is to adapt to that, and just do the best you can with that car.” He continues.
Ricciardo has used the word “weird” to characterize McLaren’s performance, and his predecessor Carlos Sainz expressed similar sentiments. Norris acknowledges that the current machine has its drawbacks
“For every driver it’s just adapting to the car you’ve got in the end of the day. That’s life, it’s the same with every team, it’s the same with everyone. That the car is just the quickest car that they can make.”
