“WHAT A RIDE,” Lando Norris reflects on his incredible friendship with Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren, hopes to end it on a high
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Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo and Zak Brown celebrating Ricciardo's win at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix
Daniel Ricciardo‘s time at McLaren comes to an end this year. He and McLaren have mutually agreed to part ways, after what have been a disappointing couple of seasons. Despite that, there certainly have been a few highlights at Ricciardo’s time with the British team, and Lando Norris has been part and parcel of them.
After McLaren announced Ricciardo’s departure, Lando Norris took to social media to share a post. Tagging Ricciardo, he said: “What a ride. From that moment in Monza to the laughs we’ve had out of the car, it’s been a joy working with you these last two years. Whatever’s next I wish you all the best, let’s have a mega next few months.”
Indeed, there have definitely been a few memorable moments, on and off track. Chief among those are Daniel Ricciardo‘s win at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, and the ‘ball’ incident before the race weekend in the lead-up to the British Grand Prix.
Daniel Ricciardo after Monza win: “I never left”
Monza was McLaren’s first win and 1-2 in a decade, and the celebrations, understandably, went completely wild. The two drivers did a ‘shoey’ during the podium celebrations, and McLaren CEO Zak Brown joined in. Later, Brown even got a tattoo on his arm commemorating the win.
The pair had finished 3 and 4 during the sprint race and started 2 and 3 for the main race. At the start, Ricciardo jumped Max Verstappen in the order and took the lead, which he kept until the pitstop. Verstappen, who came in on the next lap, had a shambolic pitstop. Next lap, Lewis Hamilton came in, and he didn’t have a good one either. Then the two championship protagonists collided after he came out, and McLaren’s moment had come.
In the build-up to the British Grand Prix, Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris were given the golden opportunity to race on bouncing balls, or ‘space hoppers’. Ricciardo was winning, and Norris decided to just run with the ball in his hand. It didn’t end well for him, as Ricciardo ‘smacked’ him in the face with the ball.
Later, Daniel Ricciardo posted on social media, saying that Lando Norris was fine after being hit with the ball. Norris felt otherwise, however.
Daniel Ricciardo’s time may not have gone as either party would have expected, but he will definitely take a load of new experiences and memorable moments from it. It will be interesting to see if Ricciardo can end the year on a strong note.
Also Read: Daniel Ricciardo set to leave McLaren at the end of the 2022 season
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)