McLaren driver Lando Norris will no longer spend as much time with Daniel Ricciardo, who was ousted at the end of the season, but feels that he has learned a “hell of a lot” from him during the past two years.
Norris paid tribute to the Australian driver who is set to become Red Bull’s reserve driver for 2023 after getting his contract at McLaren terminated following two rather disappointing seasons.
“It’s been an honour, it’s been a lot of fun,” said Norris.
“[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.”
Ricciardo may not have enjoyed a great time at McLaren, but the team will be thankful to him for breaking their decade-long wait for a Grand Prix win.
Despite Norris performing better than the Australian in both seasons, he is yet to achieve this himself.
“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 openly admitted that he has had to struggle a fair bit as far as the mental aspect of F1 is concerned.
Ricciardo helped him put things in perspective, both on and off the track.
“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,” Norris said.
“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.”
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