Daniel Ricciardo identifies former teammate Lando Norris as the only ‘Phenomenal’ force capable of challenging Max Verstappen’s dominance

Daniel Ricciardo names the only F1 talent whom he believes to be competent enough to challenge current Championship leader Max Verstappen.

Daniel Ricciardo identifies former teammate Lando Norris as the only ‘Phenomenal’ force capable of challenging Max Verstappen’s dominance

Lando Norris, the star driver for McLaren, showcased an outstanding performance at his home race, the British Grand Prix. The McLaren racer finished a commendable second behind Max Verstappen, while holding off Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton’s aggressive charge. It is no news that Max Verstappen of Red Bull currently stands as one of the strongest drivers on the grid thanks to his brilliant results. Nonetheless, Daniel Ricciardo believes that if Lando had access to the same machinery as Max, he could effortlessly compete with the two-time world champion.

According to Daniel Ricciardo, both Max and Lando are exceptionally talented drivers. In a recent interview with Crash.net, Ricciardo was asked to highlight the differences between the two drivers. He stated, “There’s no doubt that Lando is extremely good. I hope that he one day gets the chance to be in a car that can fight for wins. But do I think that he can’t handle that? No. I’m sure he can. I think he’s a phenomenal talent.”

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Daniel Ricciardo, who joined the McLaren team for the first time in 2021 alongside teammate Lando Norris, admired Norris’s ability to push the car to its absolute limits and deliver incredible performances as he himself adapted to the new team. Norris impressively concluded the 2021 season in sixth place, amassing more than twice as many points as Ricciardo.

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Daniel Ricciardo thinks Max Verstappen and Lando Norris share a number of similarities

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Lando Norris and Max Verstappen [via The Sunday Times]

Daniel Ricciardo pointed out that there were days when Lando undoubtedly matched Max’s performance even though this year’s McLaren MCL-36 has its fair share of flaws. He emphasized the difficulty in drawing a direct comparison, but firmly believed that Lando was undoubtedly competent with the limited speed of his racecar. Supporting his statement, Ricciardo said, “[There are] probably more similarities to Lando and Max. Lando still gets into quite a bit of detail, I would say.”

During the events at Silverstone, Lando Norris exhibited an impressive performance by leading the opening laps after overtaking Verstappen at the start. However, Red Bull and the talented Dutchman ultimately proved too formidable for McLaren. Although Norris has yet to secure a victory in his F1 career, Ricciardo remains confident that this achievement will soon be within his grasp, leading to a higher level of respect and recognition for the 23-year-old driver.

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