Lando Norris ready for "interesting" Daniel Ricciardo lessons

McLaren

Norris ready for "interesting" Ricciardo lessons

The pair shookdown the new MCL35M at Silverstone

Ewan Gale

Monday 22 February 2021 08:30

Lando Norris is excited to continue his Formula 1 education with new McLaren team-mate Daniel Ricciardo.

Ricciardo joined McLaren from Renault in the off-season replacing Carlos Sainz who has moved to Ferrari after a successful two-year stay with the Woking-based team.

After the launch of the new MCL35M and Ricciardo's unveiling, Norris suggested the change of team-mate would be beneficial for his development.

“I only see it as a positive," he said. "He’s a guy who can win races, he can score podiums.

"He’s good in probably every single area so for me to learn that little bit more from a different driver, get to know someone who has a different approach on things and not just get in the same habits that you get to know from one particular driver. “It’s good for me to just experience something different within Formula 1, get to see how another driver performs. In Formula 3 and F4 you sometimes have three or four team-mates, so you’re able to work with a lot of different people.

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“In F1 and also F2, you just have one team-mate and it’s a bit harder to know as much. You get used to working with one particular way or style with that other driver, so to switch it up and get to know someone different, learn how he approaches races and also his whole mindset of F1 is going to be very interesting.

“It’s good for me, I can learn from his but also it’s going to be a different way of working with him compared to how I worked with Carlos in terms of helping the team out and working together as team-mates rather than the way I used to work things with Carlos.”

Both drivers took to the track for the first time in the MCL35M at Silverstone during filming days as they got to grips with the new machinery.

“In terms of how and where he’s going to push me more than ever then it’s difficult to know until we get into the proper pre-season test and we get into the first race," he added.

"That’s when everything comes alive a little bit more and people show their true colours.

“So, I don’t have an exact answer for that yet but I’m sure it’s going to be basically every area he’s pushing me and hopefully I will be pushing him too so that is the aim."