Lando Norris admits that he is happy to help Daniel Ricciardo, with the Australian continuing to struggle to adapt to the McLaren in 2022. Ricciardo had a difficult start to his time with the Woking-based squad in 2021, a season in which he was mostly outperformed by Norris, barring his victory at the Italian Grand Prix. The Australian has faced a similar situation so far during the current season, and has only 17 points in the World Championship standings, some way off Norris' 64 points.
Norris and Ricciardo try to help each other
Norris says that he and Ricciardo try to support one another by sharing data and asking each other questions. However, the Briton admits that the two drivers each have different preferences when it comes to the car, meaning that there is only so much they can do to advise the other. "I'm happy if he has questions to ask me, if he wants to know how I feel in the car and so on," Norris told media, including RacingNews365.com . "But, at the same time, some of my feelings are not translated to his feelings, and how we drive the cars is slightly different as well. "I don’t mind as much instability from the car and can push on the fronts more, and he prefers one that is a bit more stable, and made with a little more understeer in a way. "It's not as easy as just saying, 'I do this, do that'. It's also not easy saying what I do, or vice versa, him saying what he does and me going out to do exactly that. "But there's no harm in it. We help each other as much as we can."
Why Norris can understand some of Ricciardo's struggles
When asked whether he is surprised to see Ricciardo continuing to struggle, Norris acknowledged that the McLaren car poses some challenges in terms of driving style. "I can understand on some points," Norris explained. "Because, I do feel like it's a difficult car to drive, our car. I think our characteristics, which we've also had over the past few years, even Carlos [Sainz] said it, they're quite specific and unique. "So some of the driving styles you need are not ones you grow up learning, and therefore you have to adapt quite a bit." Norris admits that he too has had to work his style to match the 2022 car. "I've also had to adapt to it," he said. "It's not just because I've been with McLaren for four years that I know this car inside out. "I struggled at the beginning of the season probably with my driving style a little bit more than what Daniel struggled with initially, in the first few tests, and I feel like I had to adapt to it quite a bit."
Norris: I still have to focus on my own race
Whilst Norris remains happy to try to help Ricciardo, he added: "I just focus on myself and that’s all. "As much as I'm willing to help and offer advice and answer questions, it's not like I go out there only to try and do that. "I still have to focus on my own race, and try and finish sixth and get the good points and things like that. "It's a balance; certain things I do understand, other bits not so much."
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