Daniel Ricciardo Wants to be ‘Top Dog’ at McLaren Over Lando Norris After France F1 Showing

Lando Norris has certainly hit the ground running in his third season at McLaren. The 21-year-old has outpaced his teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, at every race so far this season.

However, Ricciardo isn’t one to give up and has stated that he wants to be the top dog at the Woking-based outfit. In his seventh race with the team, the Australian came sixth, whereas Norris finished in fifth place.

The duo managed to score eighteen points, which resulted in them regaining third place on the Constructors’ championship and pushing rivals Ferrari down to fourth.

Daniel Ricciardo aiming for top dog position at McLaren

After the French Grand Prix, speaking to Sky Sports, Ricciardo said, “Yeah, he is certainly very good, so far he has had a very, very strong start to the season.

“I think he has had a bunch of Top-5s, obviously a couple of podiums. So he is really showing strong signs to be a top driver.

“Yeah, certainly pushing me it’s what I like. I enjoy it. Obviously, you always want to be the top dog, but good for me to learn, push and keep bettering myself,” Ricciardo concluded.

Watch Story: When F1 Drivers Had a Blast on Top Gear Featuring Hamilton, Vettel & Ricciardo

How’s the Australian’s season so far?

The 31-year-old had a lot of hope riding on his back when he signed for McLaren for the 2021 season. However, things haven’t exactly taken off for Ricciardo as he failed to crack the Top-5 at every race and has been outpaced by his teammate at the same time.

However, Ricciardo is confident that things will look better once he syncs up with the Mercedes-powered car. He certainly did improve on his form at the French GP, where he came sixth and bagged 8 crucial points for the Woking-based outfit.

Now, Ricciardo prepares himself for the doubleheader coming up in Austria next week. Seeing that he has improved, he is looking to bring consistency to the Red Bull Ring next week for the eighth round of the championship.

Read More: Daniel Ricciardo Regretfully Admits He Wouldn’t Pick F1 if He ‘Could Do it All Over Again’