Daniel Ricciardo was the surprise winner at the Monza circuit last weekend. The way he won was truly sovereign. Without the crash between Verstappen and Hamilton, it might have ended differently, but otherwise, he drove unchallenged in the lead. This victory therefore not only means a lot to him, but also to McLaren.
"The team hadn't won in nine years. I don't know if you want to call it ego, pride, or competitiveness, but of course, I wanted to be the one to break the team's drought. Obviously, that's why I was elated that it was me," Ricciardo says in the Pardon My Take podcast.
Pity for Norris
"For Lando to then be second and for us to have such a strong weekend was the perfect scenario. For him [Norris], probably the perfect scenario was that he was first and I was second," the Australian continues with the familiar smile in his voice.
He goes on to explain that Norris was never really a threat, even if he had ignored team order. At one point Norris asked the team if Ricciardo could not drive faster and he could. He proved it by setting the fastest lap of the race on the last lap. "I did that for my own peace of mind and to be able to say 'I told you so'," he said.