McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris says there is nothing more he can do to help Daniel Ricciardo get used to his new team in the middle of the 2021 season. Pictures: Getty Images
Daniel Ricciardo’s F1 teammate Lando Norris says he can’t do more Help the Australian driver get the tricky McLaren under control.
There is only 12 races left this season if the F1 season resumes at the Belgian Grand Prix on August 29th, leaving Ricciardo with limited time to get more out of the McLaren.
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The Australian star has been thoroughly overtaken by Norris so far this season. The British youngster finished third in the drivers’ standings compared to Ricciardo in 9th place.
While Ricciardo can point to some bad luck with his lower than expected score, Norris simply had more pace and was more consistent throughout the season.
McLaren engineers have admitted that their car needs to be driven a certain way to get the most out of it.
“I don’t know where else I can help,” Norris told Motorsport-Total.com.
“I tell him how I feel, he has all of my data, he can see everything I do, I describe things very well in the debriefings and what I am doing.
“I’m not going to lie, but at the end of the day it’s not me.”
At the beginning of the season, Ricciardo joked about an encounter in the paddock with his McLaren predecessor Carlos Sainz, now at Ferrari.
“I met Carlos, I don’t know when it was, not so long ago, and he said, ‘What do you think? Strange, isn’t it? ‘”Said Ricciardo before the Monaco GP in May.
“I thought, ‘Thanks for telling me’.”
The pressure on Daniel Ricciardo mounts as the F1 season prepares to return
Ricciardo needs to start scoring more points as McLaren try to beat heated rival Ferrari to third in the constructors’ championship.
McLaren broke through midfield after several years, finishing third in the 2020 championship, aided by a lackluster Ferrari team hampered by an underpowered engine.
The story goes on
However, the Italian manufacturer seems to have its power problems behind them in 2021 and leads McLaren with just one point in the constructors’ championship before the summer break.
Norris and Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc have made regular podiums so far this season, which means Ricciardo’s performance will be scrutinized if he fails to reach his chances before the end of the season.
Daniel Ricciardo struggled with McLaren in his first season. (Photo by Joe Portlock – Formula 1 / Formula 1 via Getty Images)
Norris said it was crucial that Ricciardo got the car under control sooner rather than later.
“Of course I want him to do well because that’s what we need for the championship,” said Norris.
“We want to beat Ferrari and he has to do well for that, but I can only help him to a limited extent.
“Ultimately, he’s a different driver. And I drive differently. Every driver drives differently than everyone else in the world. And what he feels is different from me, and what I feel is different from him. “
For his part, Ricciardo admitted earlier this year that he was struggling to cope with the new machinery.
“I think it’s the first time I’ve found it consistently difficult,” Ricciardo told Speedcafe.
“Sure you’ve got bad weekends over the years, and maybe you’ve even got two bad ones on your trot, but then you kind of get it right where I feel like it was definitely more bad or more or less impressive than good.”
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