Formula One’s Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo have been teammates for two years, experiencing highs like the 2021 Italian Grand Prix, laughs like the space hopper incident at the ’22 British Grand Prix and lows like much of this season as the Australian struggled to meet expectations.
Last month, news broke the McLaren and Ricciardo “mutually agreed” for him to leave at the end of the season, ending his contract a year early. In wake of the announcement, Norris was asked if he felt empathy towards Ricciardo’s struggles. Acknowledging that he would receive some backlash for his answer, the young Brit said no and explained his reasoning.
Speculation of a fallout between the duo started to rise on social media. A clip surfaced of Ricciardo sitting on his own at the Belgian Grand Prix while other drivers talked with one another, and there’s been limited interaction between Norris and the Australian on social media compared to Norris’s posts with ex-teammate Carlos Sainz.
During Thursday’s press conference ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix, Norris was posed a question about his friendship with Sainz. But while talking about his good friend, Norris also shut down rumors of a possible divide between him and Ricciardo.
“I want to be friends with as many people as possible and similar to how I am now with Daniel, you know. We get on really well. For some reason people think otherwise. But it’s completely untrue,” the 22-year-old said. “We have a lot of fun together, we spend a lot of time together. But just things are different, just because he’s a bit older and he’s into different things. He’s not into playing golf and so on. So therefore, you don’t see it as much on social media and whatever.”
It remains unknown what Ricciardo’s next step will be, but McLaren confirmed on Friday that Oscar Piastri would make his F1 debut in 2023 alongside Norris after the FIA’s Driver Contract Recognition Board upheld their contract.
