McLaren will be sporting one of the most interesting driver pairings on the grid in Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris. While Norris has been with the Woking-based outfit for the last two years, Ricciardo has been brought in to replace Carlos Sainz who signed up with Ferrari.

The man from ‘Down Under’ brings with him an immense experience of close to 200 races. Moreover, Daniel has seven Grand Prix wins and 31 podiums to his name, and is undoubtedly one of the best drivers on the grid at the moment.

Norris himself is well aware of that fact. While the Briton wants to take charge of the team, he knows his weaknesses and doesn’t claim to be a better driver than the Australian.

He said, “That’s my aim for the next few years, to be the main guy in the team. 

“There are going to be things Daniel will bring to the team; he’s going to be able to say some things that I can’t add, because I don’t have the 10 years of experience he has.

“He has been with different teams, he has won races and he has many more podiums [than me], and I can’t pretend to be better, because experience is a huge factor.”

Despite improving immensely in his second F1 season, Norris still fell short of beating his teammate from a points perspective. Against Ricciardo, the challenge may be even harder, but Norris has shown his talent and ability to learn and adapt quickly.

For fans, it should mean nothing but excitement both on and off the track.

Lando Norris keen to take his game to the next level

The young Briton knows that he has a lot of aspects to fine-tune, and intends to do just that over the course of the season with McLaren.

He said, “I’ve been in positions to capitalise with a podium or bigger points. It doesn’t have to be a lot, just a combination of some small things.

You’re one or two seconds ahead and can score a lot more points because of it. I’ve been in those positions a lot more often, and it all adds up over time.

I’m very happy with how I’ve done, but of course, there are always things I’d like to do that bit better on.”

The CEO of the Woking-based outfit has already indicated that the team has closed the gap on Mercedes. However, it will require both Norris and Ricciardo to get the best out of the cars on a consistent basis.

Can the duo deliver what’s asked of them and take the team back to its former glory? We shall soon find out.

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