Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris parted ways as the Australian’s time at McLaren came to a premature end. As the Honey Badger left the Woking-based team, he recently opened up on his former ‘young’ teammate and his easy-going personality back at the Papaya team.
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Talking about this, the Honey Badger who is now 33 years old conveyed in a report published by Formula1News.co.uk, “I think that’s ultimately just a young driver coming in and doing well. When you’re young, you feel somewhat invincible in terms of… maybe that’s too dramatic. But you can just do it.”
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“I’m not putting myself in the position where I’m old. But it’s more when you’re young, you’re just carefree. You’ve got less responsibilities, you’re just in and it’s working,” further asserted the 2023 Red Bull reserve driver.
Ricciardo had to leave the Woking-based team a year before his contract expires as the Papaya team officials felt the Honey Badger fell short of his expectations. After parting ways with McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo joined his old team Red Bull as their reserve driver behind Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
What gave Lando Norris a cushion over Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren?
Daniel Ricciardo joined McLaren after two decent years at Renault as the Honey Badger replaced Ferrari-bound Carlos Sainz. On the other hand, Norris was on the Papaya team since 2019 and had a great bonding with the Spaniard for two years until it was time to partner with the Australian in 2021.
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As the 2021 season commenced, Norris and Ricciardo started on even notes. However, with time, the Briton edged past the Australian in performance, and on points. Once the season was over, Norris finished the season with 160 points and P6, where he picked up a pole position and four podiums.
As compared to his younger teammate, the man from Land Down Under claimed P8 in the driver’s standings with 115 points. The only win at Monza where they made it 1-2 for the team was the higher point in Ricciardo’s McLaren career.
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WATCH THIS STORY: Struggling ‘Honey Badger’ Daniel Ricciardo Once Dominated the Streets of Azerbaijan in Glorious 2017
In 2022, Ricciardo’s performance dipped as he finished in P11 with 37 points, whereas Lando Norris finished in P7 with 122 points. Ultimately, after two seasons, the Woking-based team decided to part ways with the Australian with his compatriot Oscar Piastri for the 2023 F1 season.
