
Norris has no sympathy for Ricciardo after McLaren woe
F1 News
Norris has no sympathy for Ricciardo after McLaren woe

Lando Norris is steeling himself to being hated after offering Daniel Ricciardo no sympathy following the Australian's struggles with McLaren that have resulted in his axe.
Ricciardo will leave the team at the end of this season, his deal cut short by a year after 18 months of problems finding comfort and consistency with the cars.
It is a situation Norris can understand but he concedes he has had his own issues over time and has had to find a way to adapt.
Asked by GPFans if he had any degree of sympathy for what Ricciardo has endured since the 33-year-old joined the team, he replied: "I hate to say it but I would say no. People will probably hate me for saying it.
"It's difficult because I never know if I might encounter that in the future with this car or a different team, or whatever, so I never want to contradict myself going into the future.
"I've just got to focus on my driving and my job. It's not my job to focus on someone else, and I'm not a driver coach. I'm not here to help and do those kinds of things.
"I'm here to perform at my absolute best and that's about it, so it's difficult when people start to have this expectation it's my job to start doing these other things, helping, describing this and doing that when that's not really the case.
"It's also the case that if I don't perform well for a few years that it could also be the end of my career and me driving in Formula 1.
"I've got to focus on myself for the majority of it and every driver has to adapt to the scenario they are in, which I feel I have had to do.
"It's not a car I feel I've been able to jump in and flow with and perform exactly how I want. At the beginning of the year, Daniel was performing better than I was in the pre-season tests and stuff.
"It looked like he could go out naturally and drive the car how he wanted to, and I just had to learn a new way of driving compared to how I've been driving the past few years, so I feel like I've had to do a job of adapting and so has he.
"But I don't feel like for any driver on the grid you would have to feel, or have sympathy for them because they've not been able to do as good of a job."
Following his own personal recovery from the difficulties of the car at the beginning, Norris has emerged 0.356s quicker than Ricciardo on average in qualifying and has four times as many points.
As to whether he was surprised when he learned of Ricciardo's departure, Norris said: "Was I surprised? It's a tough question.
"I guess I'm surprised because when Daniel came into the team everyone expected more, and I'm sure he expected more from himself.
"So when you look at it that way you say, yeah, you're surprised.
"It's not me having a dig or anything but when you look at results and if you want two guys to be at the same level, and so on, then in a way, you're not surprised.
"It's hard to know when to call it, I guess, which is what they've done."
Most read

Alonso: Only Hamilton has Vettel's phone number

Hamilton fired 'Oscars' warning as Red Bull Ford rumours intensify - GPFans F1 Recap

F1 LIVE - Former Red Bull F1 driver makes WEC switch

Bottas slates 'controlling' FIA over latest crackdown

Hamilton urged to curb ‘Oscar speech’ antics
F1 Standings

Races
-
Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2023
-
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Australia 2023
-
Grand Prix of China 2023
-
Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2023
-
Miami Grand Prix 2023
-
Pirelli Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell'emilia Romagna 2023
-
Grand Prix of Monaco 2023
-
Grand Prix of Spain 2023
-
Grand Prix of Canada 2023
-
Grand Prix of Austria 2023
-
Grand Prix of Great Britain 2023
-
Grand Prix of Hungary 2023
-
Grand Prix of Belgium 2023
-
Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Italy 2023
-
Grand Prix of Singapore 2023
-
Grand Prix of Japan 2023
-
Qatar Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of the United States 2023
-
Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2023
-
Grand Prix of Brazil 2023
-
Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
-
Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2023
About GPFans
GPFans is a multi-platform, multi-language brand dedicated to Formula One coverage. We bring you all the ins and outs of the sport, 24/7, everything from up-to-the-minute news and features to the latest viral stories and clips.We believe that a new generation of exciting, outspoken drivers will make F1 more popular than ever before, and we want to give our users access to as much of their heroes as possible, on and off the track. From Lewis Hamilton to Max Verstappen, Daniel Ricciardo to Sebastian Vettel, we provide in-depth analysis of every every Grand Prix in the season, from Australia to Abu Dhabi.
With Formula One under the new ownership of Liberty Media, how the sport is being covered is evolving, and GPFans will look to be at the heart of this progression into new media, as one of the fastest-growing sites covering the king of motorsports.
Follow us on your favorite social media channel
Corporate & Media

7007 CD, Doetinchem, Netherlands
+31645516860