McLaren brought in an intended leader with Daniel Ricciardo, but it is Lando Norris who has stolen the show so far this season. The young Briton has impressed his team boss, while the arrival of Ricciardo has been somewhat of a disappointment.
McLaren let Carlos Sainz go fairly easily at the end of 2020. The team had, in fact, managed to strike a unique blow in the driver's market by bringing in Ricciardo as a replacement. Many felt that McLaren would only get stronger from this, but that hasn't proven to be the case so far.
Ricciardo under pressure
Andreas Seidl spoke in conversation with the German RTL about the 'huge challenge' facing Ricciardo. ''I don't think he expected it to be so difficult to switch teams. He is disappointed, and so are we of course. We expected him to be faster. However, I am still convinced that at some point it will run,'' said the McLaren team boss.
Unlike Ricciardo, Norris is on top form. ''Basically I don't believe you can be a complete Formula One driver in your third season, but his development is impressive. It's great to see how he has developed in the car, but also as a personality. He is only 21 years old, has both feet on the ground and is a real team player'', concluded Seidl.