F1 News: Daniel Ricciardo Helped Lando Norris Deal With The "Mentality" of Racing - "Struggled A Lot"

"It's been an honour"

McLaren driver Lando Norris has reflected on his time as Daniel Ricciardo's teammate and has said that Ricciardo has helped him a lot in dealing with the mentality of racing. 

It was announced earlier this year that Ricciardo and McLaren would be parting ways at the end of the season. After week's of no news of a new seat for Ricciardo, it became apparent that the Australian driver would be unlikely to secure a permanent seat for the 2023 season. 

It has now been confirmed that Ricciardo has signed with his old team Red Bull as a reserve driver. 

Norris spoken with ESPN about working with Ricciardo. He said:

"It's been an honour, it's been a lot of fun. [He's] one of the funniest guys and also nicest guys I would say in the paddock. I have not met everyone but I'll be biased in saying that.

"I've still been able to learn a hell of a lot from Daniel. His approach to racing, his mentality with it all, [you] see in the tough times how he keeps so strong with it all and has so much belief in himself."

Norris continued to talk about how he has "struggled" with the mental aspect of the job and how Ricciardo helped him with that. He added:

"That's something I struggled a lot with when I came into F1 and something I've been able to learn a lot from him over the past couple of years.

"But even on the driving side, how he drives the car in many ways. Like you can see those instances of what's made him so good, and I guess I've tried to take them on board.

"It's not an easy thing to do but the more I've been able to learn from him, the better I've become and that's certainly a good thing for me."