“Daniel is Not Carlos”- McLaren Wary of Making a Big Sacrifice Ahead of Ricciardo’s Arrival

McLaren had a strong season as they pipped Ferrari for the Top-3 position on the Constructors’ Championship. It was the high level of collaboration between the team and the drivers that made such a finish possible.

Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris have brewed an environment that allows for openness and trust. As a part of this, the drivers felt comfortable opening their box of secrets. An act where both drivers get to share their car developments to find weaknesses and maximize development.

Carlos Sainz will move to Ferrari next season as Daniel Ricciardo joins Lando Norris. The results of sharing their box of secrets have been very positive for the team. McLaren will expect Daniel Ricciardo to embrace the team’s current culture as well.

“The most important thing from my point of view is that we preserve the conditions that we created to allow that high level of collaboration between Carlos and Lando,” said McLaren’s Technical Director, Andrea Stella.

“But it’s not just about preserving those conditions, we may have to adapt them. Daniel is not Carlos and his relationship with Lando will be different.

“It may be similar, but it will not be the same and we need to be mindful of that and adapt with a view to maintain the standards,” he further added.

The new team culture helped improve McLaren

According to McLaren, they have allowed an open and transparent dialogue between the teammates. Moreover, the drivers have learned from each other in order to improve the car and score more points.

McLaren had their best finish in the last 8 years. Stella pointed out, “The level of collaboration between the two of them has been incredibly high. It’s one of the reasons they are so evenly matched on track.

“When there is an open and transparent dialogue between teammates, it elevates their performance because they can crosscheck with each other and quickly identify the weak points of the car or find the best approach to a corner.”

Daniel Ricciardo is a race winner who comes with immense experience and knowledge. The pair of Lando and Ricciardo is going to be very entertaining for the Formula 1 community. Let’s hope it’ll also prove to be the strongest pair on the grid next season.