Although he dedicated a nice message to him on social networks when Ricciardo and McLaren announced that they would not continue together in F1 in 2023, Norris was not at all compassionate in his meeting with the media in the run-up to the Belgian GP.
The Brit again and again gave cold answers, showing no regret at the departure of a teammate he has beaten for two years.
The first question was direct, and he already left a comment that caught our attention: had the news about Daniel Ricciardo surprised him? Norris made it clear: “It’s a tough question. I guess I was surprised because when Daniel came on the team, everyone expected more. And I’m sure he expected more from himself. If you look at it like that, yeah, it’s surprising. I don’t want to throw him out.” no taunting or anything, but if you look at the results, and you want both drivers to be on the same level, you’re not surprised by the decision.”
Lando Norris said he knows what his teammate is capable of, and that he can still beat him in the next few races, but he seemed hurt by something he’s read or heard lately: “I think the one thing people get very wrong about is that the car is designed for me, or that it suits my style more”.
“At the beginning of the year, he was adapting better, and I was not comfortable, but it is the driver’s job to adapt and do what you can with the car you have. In the end, each driver has to adapt to his car, go out and perform at his best. I can with that single-seater”.
Norris finds no explanation for Ricciardo’s problems, and admits that in team meetings he is often unable to help his partner: “I have no answer for what is happening to him, and if anyone did, it would probably be Daniel himself.”
“I help him where I can in any area where he asks ‘how did you do that?’ or ‘what are you doing there?’ Whatever it is. So yeah, I guess sometimes, I just sit there and I don’t know what to say. Because, yeah, I just say what I feel and what I notice is different than what he feels. So I say what mine and I just have to listen to what he says. But as another driver, there’s not much I can do or say to help him.”
Asked if he felt empathy for Ricciardo’s problems, McLaren’s English was completely candid: “I hate to say it, but I would say no. People would probably hate me for saying it. It’s hard, because I never know if I could find myself in that situation in the future, with this car or with a different team, so I never know what I will suffer in the future. But I just have to focus on my driving and my job. It’s not my job to focus on someone else.”
“I’m not a driver coach, I’m not here to help and do that kind of thing. I’m here to do my best, and that’s it. So it’s hard for people to start having the expectation that it’s It’s my job to also start doing those other things and help, when that’s not really the case.”
“I could also see myself out of F1 if I don’t perform well in the next few years, so I have to focus on myself most of the time. And every driver has to adapt to the scenarios they find themselves in.”
“At the beginning of the year Daniel was performing better, and I had to do some adaptation work, and so did he. But I don’t think you have to feel or have sympathy for any driver on the grid because they haven’t been able to do such a good job.
Finally, a tougher Norris than we are used to, responded to the words of his boss Zak Brown . The CEO of McLaren had declared that Ricciardo was a reference for Norris, who made him bring out his best version.
Lando disagrees. “There are some areas,” he replied to Motorsport.com’s question. “It’s not that in every area he’s better than me and I’ve been able to catch up with him. I don’t think that’s right. But there are certain things that he does very well and I’ve been able to learn from them. And that has helped me in a way.”
“But I don’t think he was the one who made me feel like I had to go to another level. Every little thing you can learn from someone is going to help, but not everything you can learn from someone you can put into practice right away. “.
“Although yes, of course, it has helped me in some way, because he is a guy with much more experience than me, he has been in Formula 1 much longer, he has won races. So there are things that he can do and that are extremely good and I can learn from them. So I’d say it’s half true. I’ve been able to learn a few things, but I wouldn’t say he’s the reason I’ve done so much better this season.”
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