Despite the Ugly Split With McLaren, Daniel Ricciardo’s Reunion With Lando Norris Deemed Possible as Oscar Piastri Turns Out to Be Too Hot to Handle

Daniel Ricciardo is making more headlines as a reserve driver and professional Reel creator for Red Bull than he did at McLaren. At McLaren, he made headlines for the wrong reasons. Underperformance was a big issue for him. And so, Lando Norris was flourishing in comparison. But now, Norris’ current teammate is getting too good and thus, putting pressure on him. And according to an F1 expert, that’s not good for Norris’ ego.

With a new livery, new helmets, a new car, and a new Qualifying performance – McLaren came all guns blazing at Silverstone. The upgrades to Lando Norris’ MCL60 in Austria were only the beginning of something revolutionary. While his rookie teammate, Oscar Piastri didn’t get an upgraded car for Austria, at Silverstone, he showed everybody why he should have. The duo qualified in P2 and P3, with Norris in the front row. However, Peter Windsor believes that Norris would rather have an underperforming ex-teammate, Ricciardo, alongside him.

On his YouTube channel, Windsor said, “Oscar Piastri putting massive pressure on Lando Norris. There was a moment in Q2 when Lando brought the crowd to their feet by going purple P1. And very shortly after, Oscar gazumped him. For me, putting pressure on Lando is not the way to get the best from him and he’d be more comfortable with Daniel Ricciardo in the other car.“

He also elaborated on how Norris could have suffered a major blow to his ego if Piastri out-qualified him. He said, “So, it all comes down to Q3. And I’ve got to say, Lando, just superb, absolutely brilliant, how he put in a lap right at the end and goes slightly quicker than Oscar to get P2 rather than P3. That was a seminal moment I think in the career of Lando Norris. Because, had Oscar out-qualified him at Silverstone, that’s not something he would’ve swallowed particularly easily.”

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Norris is still safe from the threat that his rookie teammate poses. However, with such a performance, he has found his sense of humor back.

Lando Norris Finds Lost Sense of Humor as He Jokes About Max Verstappen’s Robotic Dominance

The British GP qualifying was one of the most enthralling ones this season. Because it was not just Max Verstappen that topped the time charts. Well, he eventually did. But Norris did get a provisional pole in Q3 setting the track ablaze. His home crowd went wild as he set purple sectors. And it got even better for them as the Dutchman, on his flying lap behind set a yellow Sector 2. Alas, like all qualifying sessions before this, Verstappen set a purple Sector 3 and secured the Pole.

After the qualifying session, the Briton jokingly spoke about Verstappen playing spoilsport. He said “My last lap was a good lap. I could hear Zak (Brown) on the in-lap which was the best thing ever. It’s great for both of us, pretty amazing for the whole team. Max always ruins everything!”

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Today, if Lando Norris can overtake Verstappen’s RB19 before Turn 1, the crowd is going to be ecstatic. However, the race pace of the MCL60 is yet to be seen. Nevertheless, it’s going to be one hell of a race today at Silverstone.