McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo has weighed in on teammate Lando Norris lapping him at the Monaco GP.
In F1, lapping is nothing new. However, it is humiliating if the driver’s teammate laps him. Then it is a case of similar tools, but different ability. If the car is not in perfect condition, it’s okay. But in Ricciardo’s case, his car was completely the same as his teammate’s.
In that respect, it must have been embarrassing for Ricciardo and McLaren to witness what happened. The Australian talked about his struggles this season in new colours. When Norris showed up in his rear-view mirror, he simply let him pass.
“I just put my hands up, so to speak. What should I do?” Ricciardo said.
“Generally it never feels nice to be lapped. To be honest, the race was already very painful by then. That was a weekend to forget.”
As mentioned earlier, Ricciardo hasn’t had a dream start to life at McLaren. He isn’t the only new signing who is struggling, but he seems to be one of the worse ones. His best result this season was a P6 at the Spanish GP. It was also the first and only time he finished ahead of his teammate, with Norris finishing two cars behind.
Time for Ricciardo to join the party
Norris ended up on the podium at Monaco, while Ricciardo could only manage P12. The McLaren-Ferrari midfield battle still rages on, because of Charles Leclerc failing to make it to the race.
As a result, McLaren still sit ahead of Ferrari by two points. However, this battle will require both teams’ drivers to step up, and that includes Ricciardo.
F1 heads to Baku in Azerbaijan for the next race. Ricciardo’s fortunes on this track have been mixed, but he has won here in 2017. McLaren will hope both him and Norris will deliver big and leave Ferrari in their dust.
Read more: “That made me wince”: Brundle was uneasy when Norris lapped Ricciardo in Monaco