Andreas Seidl has explained some of the possible reasons that a 37-point gap has emerged in the F1 standings between McLaren teammates Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo. Norris has enjoyed a fine start to the new campaign and, despite at one stage accepting that he could spend the season fighting at the back, has already scored a podium. His and the team's turnaround from their difficult opening race in Bahrain has impressed many, but Ricciardo has not matched their upward curve, having only scored one points finish to Norris' five. It comes after a 2021 campaign in which McLaren showed great patience in Ricciardo who, despite taking the squad's only race win, ended the year 55 points behind his teammate.
Seidl: Norris strong but Ricciardo still not at 100 per cent
Ricciardo's boss, Zak Brown, did not hold back as he openly commented on the Australian's struggles ahead of the Monaco Grand Prix. The 32-year-old then crashed during Friday practice and finished 13th on Sunday, after a poor qualifying session left him destined for a processional race. When quizzed on Ricciardo by members of the media, including RacingNews365.com , Seidl explained: "In general, Daniel says it himself, he still doesn't feel 100 per cent with the car, especially when it's about pushing it to the absolute limit in qualifying. "He's up against a very strong teammate as well, with Lando, and if you put both things together, that's the gap we are sometimes seeing."
Seidl admits: Ricciardo has had car problems
But it hasn't just been down to Ricciardo failing to get on top of his MCL36, Seidl explained, with the team having discovered that car problems were partly to blame for his disappointing result at the Spanish Grand Prix. Norris, suffering from severe tonsillitis, placed eighth, while Ricciardo ended the day down in 12th. "Barcelona, in the race, it was simply not possible for Daniel to do a better pace. That's something we had to analyse after the race, which we did," said Seidl. "We found an issue on the car which gave us an explanation, which was important, then we learned from that."
What next for Ricciardo and McLaren?
The bigger the gap between McLaren's two drivers grows, the more speculation mounts over Ricciardo's future. The driver himself has made clear that he plans to stay with the Woking-based outfit until the end of his current contract (2023). Meanwhile, the team say they are focused on working with him to bring him closer to his young teammate. Seidl added: "All we can do, together with Daniel, with a commitment on both sides, is to simply keep working hard in order to find these last percentages."
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