Mix of Ricciardo's experience and my McLaren know-how will 'lead the way' - Lando Norris

McLaren

Mix of Ricciardo's experience and my McLaren know-how will 'lead the way' - Norris

Australian joins the team with a 10-year F1 career behind him

Ian Parkes

Saturday 23 January 2021 17:56

Lando Norris believes a combination of Daniel Ricciardo's decade of Formula 1 experience and his understanding of McLaren will provide the team with a welter of ideas that will ultimately 'lead the way'.

Norris will be partnered by Ricciardo for this year after the Australian opted to leave Renault and join the Woking-based marque following Carlos Sainz's switch to Ferrari.

The 21-year-old may be 10 years Ricciardo's junior, but he recognises there will be no need to feel over-awed as he will have the edge over his new team-mate in some areas, and vice versa.

Article continues under video

"There are two sides to it," said Norris in an interview, including GPFans Global. "There is a guy with a lot of experience, a lot of knowledge who is coming to the team and is wanting to share that.

"Then there is me who knows how the team works and knows what we have dealt with over the last three to four years, how things work in terms of what the car is capable of doing and the directions on a weekend.

"There are things like that which Daniel isn't going to know so it will be a mixture of both Daniel and myself having ideas and leading the way."

Heading into his third year with McLaren, Norris is now at home within the team and fully averse as to its practices, which will make him a team leader on occasion.

"That's going to be a little bit weird," added Norris. "There were times throughout last year - more towards the middle and latter part - when I kind of took on that role.

"There were a lot more debriefs and things that were led by myself, rather than Carlos, taking the car more in the direction I wanted it to be improved and thinking ahead to the future.

"Obviously, there were a lot of meetings that didn't include Carlos. When it came to '21 stuff and '22, we couldnt involve him because he was moving to another team.

"So I think that will happen a little more this year, leading the debriefs a little bit more and bringing the ideas and my experience of working with McLaren to the table."

Norris, however, recognises what Ricciardo offers after 188 grands prix and working with two of the biggest teams in Red Bull and Renault.

"Daniel is a lot more experienced than I am by a very long way," assessed Norris.

"So his experience, what he can bring from working at Red Bull and Renault and all these teams, with all these different drivers and engineers, that is stuff I can't bring because I have been with one team and it will be my third year in Formula 1.

"There is no expectation for me to try and know everything more than Daniel is going to because it is impossible.

"There are going to be things on which Daniel is going to lead because he has that experience and that knowledge which I just simply don't have."