WATCH: Daniel Ricciardo mistakenly calls his McLaren teammate Lando Norris an 'a**hole'

A hilarious clip of Daniel Ricciardo mistakenly calling his teammate Lando Norris an a**hole in Italian has surfaced on social media. The Australian driver tried to showcase his Italian-speaking skills but accidentally insulted his British teammate instead.

Watch the goofy clip below:

Turns out Daniel Ricciardo is not as fluent in Italian as he thought he was, having called his teammate an a**hole in a post-GP interview. The driver has Italian blood, with his father having been born in the country before moving to the land Down Under. The Australian driver referred to Lando Norris as a 'Stronzo' which is Italian for the aforementioned rude word. It would, however, seem his English McLaren teammate didn't quite understand what Ricciardo said four times on national TV, failing to provide a shocking response.

The McLaren driver was immediately corrected by the Italian reporter, who informed Ricciardo that the word he used to describe Norris was, in fact, a rude word. The 33-year-old excused himself in Italian and walked away from the scene of the crime before Lando Norris himself arrived at the microphone.

The Australian secured consecutive points finishes for the first time in 2022, having shown decent pace in the 2022 F1 French GP. The driver finished P9 but lost out to his teammate, Lando Norris, who finished in P7.

---

Daniel Ricciardo shut down rumors of leaving F1

Daniel Ricciardo felt it was important to give a statement on social media to shut down rumors of him quitting McLaren and the sport. The Australian believes he has yet to accomplish much with his team and within the sport.

When asked about the need to upload a statement on social media during an on-site media session where Sportskeeda was present, the McLaren driver said:

“It’s very simple, there will always be rumors, noises, and even whether I will leave the sport. It’s not what I want, I still have things to accomplish in this sport, with the McLaren team, and I want to do it. I don’t shy away from challenges, we have encountered many in the last 18 months. But simply, I would like to swear if I could, but all of this means a lot to me.”

The driver has been going through a turbulent time in the sport ever since joining McLaren for the 2021 season. Daniel Ricciardo has been unable to find pace in McLaren F1 cars and is almost always outperformed by his teammate Lando Norris in equal machinery. Many have doubted the Australian's future in the sport given his recent form, but the driver's own statements seem to indicate that he is here to stay.

Realistically, however, Ricciardo still has almost half the season to prove himself in 2022. His recent double-point finishes might be the start of an upwards slope, giving long-time fans hope for the races to come.