F1 | Norris not worried about having a “big name” like Ricciardo as a teammate
The young McLaren driver reveals he doesn’t feel the pressure of having Daniel Ricciardo as teammate.
McLaren has been the first team to launch the 2021 car. The MCL35M has been presented online and there were both Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, appearing as a team for the first time.
Lando Norris is a young driver and only had Carlos Sainz, another young driver, as a teammate. With the Spaniard heading to Ferrari, the Woking-based team took the chance of hiring a top-class name and took home the seven-times Grands Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo.
Ok NOW it feels real. @danielricciardo 🤩 pic.twitter.com/wTWGRrTs9z
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 16, 2021
Differently from both Sainz and Norris, the Australian has much experience to share along with his talent. He didn’t have a lot memorial performances during the last seasons but he is still the one who outshone Vettel in Red Bull, keep it in mind!
Lando Norris doesn’t feel menaced though. The young Briton looks confident and calm and he states to Yahoo! finance he is ready for this new adventure.
“I don’t think the arrival of Daniel will make it any harder for me,- said said the 21-year-old McLaren driver -I worked with Carlos who is an extremely good driver and there are things Carlos is going to be better at than Daniel and vice-versa. I don’t believe Daniel is a big step above anything that Carlos has achieved, and there is more pressure on him because he has been in Formula One for longer and he has to come in and perform very well.”
Then, Norris reflects on his position in the Circus as a new driver who’s improved a lot by earning his first podium. “It is harder for someone to go up against a much younger driver than it is for a younger driver going up against someone with more experience. I am in that earlier phase of my career but I still need to perform very well, and there are no excuses for me anymore.”
On the other hand, Daniel Ricciardo feels the pressure because he needs to score more podiums and relevant races through this season, considering that McLaren improved very much during the last two seasons and now it has a Mercedes engine, so it is a car who could bring home astounding results, which are – sorry, Lando – expected more by the Australian.
“I feel like this team has a bunch of momentum and there is good stability – he says - When I first talked to McLaren in 2018 there were still quite a few moving parts. The results were not there on track, and they were trying to figure out their own structure. They have established that now and I am fitting into the puzzle as opposed to putting it all together.”
McLaren presented a wonderful single-seater and the expectations for 2021 are very high: we only have to wait for Bahrain to admire the performances and see who’s going to be the best Mercedes opponent this year.
