After yet another shameful start to the season, McLaren is back to its old brilliant best thanks to the upgrades. The upgrades have put both the McLaren men on top of the grid and fighting for podiums. McLaren’s star man, Lando Norris secured the team’s first podium since the 2022 Imola GP. However, Daniel Ricciardo still remains the only driver to secure a race win for McLaren in almost a decade. Despite his race wins, his abilities behind the wheel, and his experiences as a race winner, the Australian brutally got the boot. Ricciardo’s difficulty with the McLaren cars and Norris’s brilliance in them was a confusing sight. However, according to McLaren’s TP, Andrea Stella, this is all because of Norris’s quality, which is being highlighted now.

With Carlos Sainz and Ricciardo, Norris was always the less experienced driver on the team. However, next to Oscar Piastri, a rookie, for the first time in his career, Norris is the senior driver at McLaren. This scenario now highlights a quality of Norris that was hidden so far according to Stella.

“Lando Norris is evolving as a rider and today he is definitely a leader for the team. Not in the sense that he is the first driver but that he is a driving force. Piastri is inspiring it to go strong and the feedback we get from Lando and Oscar are very similar,” said Stella in the FIA press conference as quoted on Twitter.

Read More: 12 Months After Snubbing Daniel Ricciardo, Lando Norris Continues to Root for F1 “GOAT” for a Surprise Shot at Glory

Now, Ricciardo can bet his life on Norris, such is their relationship. However, not being able to beat him most weekends during the entirety of his McLaren tenure definitely put a dent in his reputation. A narrative he needs to change at AlphaTauri.

Daniel Ricciardo needs to earn back the respect he lost at McLaren for a shot at the Red Bull seat

There is no secret Ricciardo’s end goal is the Red Bull seat. Now if that will be 6 months later or 1.5 years from now, will be decided on multiple factors. However, first and foremost, the Australian needs to beat his current teammate Yuki Tsunoda before he can even begin thinking about the promotion.

Nate Saunders, on the ESPN Unlapped, said, “I’d say, clean weekend and beat Yuki Tsunoda. First weekend out, I think that’s a car with pretty big limitations, and the one thing you’ve got to do is beat your teammate, first and foremost. He couldn’t [beat his teammate] much at McLaren, so I think [beating Yuki] would show the confidence is there.”

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Now Ricciardo will start off his return to the grid with a disadvantage as Tsunoda is already accustomed to the AT04. However, for the Australian’s sake, let’s hope he can get up to speed quickly and start challenging Tsunoda as soon as possible.