F1 | Norris about his teammate Daniel Ricciardo: "It is not up to me to help him to make him feel better"
Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo expressed themselves on the latest performance of the Australian driver with McLaren. "I don't have sympathy for someone if they are struggling or if they are finding it tough." Lando Norris said about his teammate, while Ricciardo said that he's doing his best and he feels like he's "back at school".
After last week's race in Portugal, McLaren drivers released some statements regarding Daniel Ricciardo's recent performance with the new MCL35.
The Australian driver seemed subdued in the last few races, an absolutely predictable situation given the change of team and the time needed to get used to and understand a new car.
The fight for third place in the world championship, between McLaren and Ferrari, is seasoned with what many have considered strong statements by Lando Norris towards his teammate, but which have all the air of being simple phrases Formula 1 is used to.
This sport has always been full of battles, between teammates and non-teammates, so one thing that must always be kept in mind that the drivers fight only for themselves and healthy competition only enriches the race Sundays.
"I don't want to be mean but I don't have sympathy," Norris said according to Racingnews365.com.
"At the end of the day, it was his decision to come to McLaren. It is the decision of any driver to go to a different team and it is up to him to do a good job," he stated.
"It is as simple as that. It is up to him, it is not up to me to help him or up to me to make him feel better. It is his job."
"He will get there eventually but I don't have sympathy for someone if they are struggling or if they are finding it tough. That is just the way it is in life sometimes and I am sure other drivers are having the same thing."
"We are still early days. We know he is going to get there eventually so we will still be able to fight strongly," Norris added.
Daniel Ricciardo is working hard to understand the car better and put his experience and desire to fight into play, also thanks to the support of the team that's helping him to find the right balance and the right feeling with his single seater.
"It's hard to be a beginner, " he said laughing. "The feedback from the team is good, they're trying to get me in some good habits with this car and its characteristics, weather it's breaking or the way you get on throttle," the Aussie said to Motorlat and other media.
"The car is sensitive and it's working well in some ways but not in others, and I kinda think I'm trying to program myself to learn how to drive faster, so I'm back at school," he added.
