Breaking news
Formula 1
McLaren hopes Norris, Ricciardo will share "box of secrets"
McLaren Formula 1 racing director Andrea Stella says the close relationship between Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris encouraged both men to open their "box of secrets" and share information.
Adam Cooper
Published: Dec 25, 2020, 10:12 AM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Stella hopes that Norris and new arrival Daniel Ricciardo will also form a fruitful partnership, although he says inevitably it won't be the same and will need to be managed differently.
Sainz and Norris were team mates for two seasons in 2018 and 2019, and they quickly formed a bond, despite a difference in age and experience. They helped the Woking team move up from sixth to fourth and then third in the constructors' championship.
"Carlos and Lando have been excellent this year," said Stella in a team website Q&A. "The level of collaboration between the two of them has been incredibly high.
"It's one of the reasons they are so evenly matched on track. When there is an open and transparent dialogue between team mates, it elevates their performance because they can crosscheck with each other and quickly identify the weak points of the car or find the best approach to a corner.
"This has been possible due to the personal qualities of Carlos and Lando, and, I hope, the environment we have built within the team which encourages openness and trust.
"It means the drivers feel comfortable opening their box of secrets, rather than keeping that box closed so as not to give away any advantage to their teammate."
Read Also:
- Ricciardo "fulfilled" by Renault F1 turnaround in 2020 season
- McLaren's "fragile" business risked stalling F1 progress
- How McLaren turned shop floor mutiny into credible recovery
Expanding on the likely impact of Ricciardo Stella said: "He's proven that he's one of the best out there.
"The most important thing from my point of view is that we preserve the conditions that we created to allow that high level of collaboration between Carlos and Lando.
"But it's not just about preserving those conditions, we may have to adapt them. Daniel is not Carlos and his relationship with Lando will be different.
"It may be similar, but it will not be the same and we need to be mindful of that and adapt with a view to maintain the standards."
McLaren technical director James Key expects Ricciardo to be a much stronger package than when they worked at Toro Rosso in the early days of the Australian's F1 career.
"He's an excellent driver to work with," said Key. "He will have accumulated plenty of experience and knowledge since I last worked with him, so I expect he'll be several steps ahead of where he was back then in terms of what he'll bring to the team.
"He arrives as a proven race winner and is someone who can go toe-to-toe with the very best drivers. Daniel is very easy to get on with, but he's hugely determined and that has a positive effect on any team.
"He will be a great reference point for us and, together with Lando, we will have one of the strongest driver pairings in the paddock."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Sir Frank Williams discharged from hospital
Next article Verstappen doesn't regret turning down Mercedes offer in 2014
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Adam Cooper
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Formula 1
Formula 1
Japanese GP
RB: Tsunoda “mentally on a different level” in 2024
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti planning F2 and F3 entries to promote US talent to F1 team
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
Formula 1
Formula 1
Andretti F1 team formally opens new Silverstone facility
More from
McLaren
McLaren to introduce 2027 F1 front wing at Brazil GP
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
7 h
McLaren to introduce 2027 F1 front wing at Brazil GP
Penalty drops Oscar Piastri out of F1 Mexico GP points
Formula 1
Formula 1
Mexican GP
Penalty drops Oscar Piastri out of F1 Mexico GP points
Latest news
NASCAR VP explains Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry penalties
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
1 h
NASCAR VP explains Carson Hocevar, Josh Berry penalties
Colton Herta to run Cadillac FP1 in Brazil as FIA superlicense quest continues
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
1 h
Colton Herta to run Cadillac FP1 in Brazil as FIA superlicense quest continues
NASCAR issues penalties to Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry for Martinsville brake-checks
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
2 h
NASCAR issues penalties to Carson Hocevar and Josh Berry for Martinsville brake-checks
NASCAR making progress with short track show but drivers still want more
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Martinsville II
3 h
NASCAR making progress with short track show but drivers still want more
Feature
Discover prime content
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe