Daniel Ricciardo made Lando Norris a better person according to the McLaren driver

Lando Norris feels Daniel Ricciardo made him a better person during his stay at McLaren.

The two drivers were teamed up for 2021 and 2022 and those two years played out differently to what many had expected. Many thought the Australian would have the edge over his younger teammate but that was not the case.

Over the two-year partnership, Lando Norris comprehensively outperformed Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren. So much so that it forced the team into a situation where it had to poach Oscar Piastri from Alpine.

Talking about his relationship with Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris revealed that the Australian helped him learn how to deal with some adverse situations. According to Norris, Daniel was going through a very tough time at McLaren but he never let that change his positive outlook. He said:

“I think his experience and mentality, to me, was always crucial in helping me become a better person, a better driver. Daniel [Ricciardo] has always done a good job at hiding or just dealing with tough times. That’s something I really admired with what he’s done."

"I probably wouldn’t be able to look back and really be as happy as what he’s been in the past if I was in a similar position. So that’s something I really do admire and try to be more like when I go through tough times.”

Daniel Ricciardo explains why he didn't want to hasten his return

Daniel Ricciardo recently explained why he didn't want to just jump into any of the F1 cars and hasten his return. The Australian mentioned he was focussing on getting his confidence back and how he didn't want to rush anything and said:

“I didn’t want to just jump back into a car, any car just to be one of the F1 drivers. And I still don’t see myself starting from scratch and rebuilding a career and going at it for another decade. I appreciate I might not have every opportunity under the sun but I want to win. I want to be back with a top team and obviously a team where I have my confidence back and my mojo.”

Ricciardo's return has a major asterisk attached to it right now as it's hard to see where the driver can fit himself in the larger scheme of things. The Australian is still a very capable driver and it will be interesting to see if he can find a way back to the F1 grid.