Lawrence Barretto: Don't write Ricciardo off just yet
Tuesday, 1 June 2021
There's still time for the Aussie to find his form.
The Australian Grand Prix podcast In the Fast Lane has released its latest episode, featuring Senior Writer for formula1.com, Lawrence Barretto.
Barretto joined In the Fast Lane co-hosts Matt Clayton and Michael Lamonato to discuss the growing tension between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen, whether Red Bull still needs more from its second driver to fight off Mercedes, and if McLaren has genuine concerns about Daniel Ricciardo's form.
Barretto compares the two McLaren drivers, saying Lando Norris has stepped up this year, but that that doesn’t mean Ricciardo won’t put up a fight once he settles into the team.
“I think in many ways they’ve got the best of both worlds. They’ve got a guy (Norris) who they’ve invested in hugely, delivering … I think this year he’s changed his mindset, he’s doing things differently off track, he’s not as funny publicly, he’s trying to really focus on the racing,” said Barretto.
“Daniel has come into this team, we know he takes time to settle in, we saw it at Renault. It’s just unfortunate that he’s come in at a time that Lando is excelling.”
“I think once Daniel gets comfortable with the car and gets an understanding of how he drives this car specifically, he’s going to be right up there with Lando and on occasion beating him. It just depends how far Lando can pull away while Daniel is struggling and how much that impacts his confidence,” he continued.
The podcast is available on Spotify, Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts platforms.
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