Ricciardo won't be number one at McLaren

Daniel Ricciardo has been warned he will not start as McLaren's number one driver when the 2021 Formula 1 season begins.

McLaren moved quickly to install Renault's Ricciardo once it became evident the team would be losing Carlos Sainz to Ferrari following the Scuderia's decision to part ways with Sebastian Vettel at the end of this season.

Despite Ricciardo's obvious experience advantage over Lando Norris, with the Australian competing in 171 grands prix - winning seven - compared to the 20-year-old Briton's 21-race career, Seidl has made it clear they will start on an equal footing.

“As long as I’m the team boss, no-one at the start of the season will ever be the number one,” Seidl told Sky Sports.

“If someone has as long a road to go as we do, you need two drivers equal to each other, as we had in 2019 with Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris.

“With Lando and Daniel, we have another great duo. Not only sporty but also when it comes to presenting McLaren as a brand.”

Ricciardo, meanwhile, is hoping the current lockdown period will help extend his F1 career.

Without any racing over these past few months, the 30-year-old has had the opportunity to throw himself into a rigorous training regime.

Coupled with the absence of travelling, Ricciardo would like to think there will be long-term benefits.

"We’ve been able to really knuckle down and set up a real training programme that we never really get,” said Ricciardo, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live.

“You get it at the start of the year, but once you get back to Europe and the travelling starts, it’s so hard to get any routine and consistency.

"Now we’ve been able to build like an eight-week block as we’d call it, and [we are] starting to see some really good improvements.

“I think part of it is the training and being able to have this amount [of time] to condition my body.

"I think the icing on the cake of that has been we haven’t been jumping timezones, locked in pressurised cabins for three days per week up in the air.

“I think the benefit is going to be really nice, and because it’s so unique, I think it was really important to maximise this. Who knows, it might give me a bit more longevity in my career.”

Before you go...

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Sainz predicts continued success for McLaren

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