Ricciardo's return to form good for me, says McLaren teammate Lando Norris

When Daniel Ricciardo became a driver for UK constructor McLaren, many wondered what the future would be like for the young British driver, Lando Norris. Ricciardo was a legend of the sport and was hungry for a championship run. The fact that he left Renault for McLaren in 2021 meant that McLaren were willing to put the Australian undisputedly as their ace driver. Lando’s development might have taken a severe hit had that happened. This season, however, has proven otherwise. It is the British driver that is ahead of the Australian, by a considerable margin, in the driver’s championship table. Lando is third in the championship table, only behind the two title contenders, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen.

Last Sunday in Monza, McLaren created history with a P1 P2 victory. The star on the day was Ricciardo who won the race with Lando finishing in second. The Australian was in good form throughout the weekend as he performed magnificently in the F1 sprint. It was an incredible driver by Ricciardo and Lando was one of the first people to congratulate him. When he was later asked about his position in the team with the Australian’s renaissance, he said that it was helping him improve as well.

CONFIDENCE FOR THE FUTURE

“Daniel led from the start, we were in these positions [on merit],” Norris told the media including Motorsport Week after Sunday’s race. “That’s why we more than deserved it. We were there on pace, where Daniel put the car, where I put the car,” he said. “It gives us that confidence to go in the future,” he added.

“In terms of what he can do on track now compared to what he could do a few months ago he’s definitely a lot closer, for sure,” Lando continued. “It’s also good for me in a way, as much as I hate it, because you want to beat anyone in any circumstance! It’s only going to push me more, push the team more, help us as a team in the constructors’ as well,” he added referring to McLaren’s ongoing battle with Ferrari over fourth place in the standings.

“We’re racing Ferrari, who have got two extremely good drivers, to beat them week in week out,” the Brit continued. “It’s been a tough first half of the season for us when Daniel has been struggling that little bit, but now he’s come through,” he added.

THE SHOEY

Following his victory in the Italian Grand Prix, Ricciardo unleashed the most potent weapon in his arsenal: the dreaded ‘shoey,’ in which he, Norris, and McLaren CEO drank champagne from the Aussie’s rank racing boot. 

“It tasted alright,” Norris told Crash.net, while not exactly sounding keen to experience it again any time soon. “Not a big fan of that kind of drink anyway. When you have the addition of it coming out of a shoe, from Daniel, where his sweaty foot’s been for the last two hours!” he added.