Opinion | In 2021, it will become clear how good Norris really is
McLaren Media Centre
Column
In Formula 1, your most important opponent is your teammate and so at GPblog we look ahead to the team duels in 2021. Which drivers will compete and what can we expect from that duel? In the eighth part we take a closer look at the McLaren line-up.
Daniel Ricciardo
You feel like Daniel Ricciardo will always be a young dog in the Formula 1 paddock, but at 31 years old, the Australian is no longer one of the youngest drivers. Ricciardo surprised a lot of people, including the Renault leadership, with his move to McLaren and the question is whether Ricciardo made a good move.
At 31 years and a three-year contract, Ricciardo appears to be in one of his last jobs in F1. If he still wants to become world champion, that almost has to happen at McLaren. It is not his fault. At Red Bull Racing he beat Sebastian Vettel and went with Max Verstappen. At Renault, he beat Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon without too much effort.
Whether Ricciardo made the right choice will most likely not become apparent until 2022 when McLaren really has the opportunity to step forward with the new regulations. Until then, Ricciardo will have to prove himself again, and with Lando Norris by his side, it will be far from an easy task.
Lando Norris
Lando Norris is still only 21, making him ten years younger than his new teammate. Norris has passed the first two years in Formula 1 nicely, but we have not yet seen any huge outliers. On Saturday he is very fast and on Sunday he came on the podium once, but as we saw the class from Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, we have not really seen for Norris.
Norris faced a formidable competitor in his first two years in Formula 1. In qualifying, Norris was always close to boss his teammate, but when it came down to it, Carlos Sainz was always the best on Sunday. In 2019 and 2020, the Spaniard scored more points than the Brit. The question is how will that go with Daniel Ricciardo?
Where Sainz was pushed aside at Red Bull and Renault and had to make do with a place at McLaren, Ricciardo is a widely appreciated driver. The Australian already has many victories and podiums in his pocket and left another talent without a chance in the team duel in 2020: Esteban Ocon. Norris, therefore, faces a very tough assignment.
Forecast for 2021
If you look at the past two seasons, it is very interesting to follow this duo during qualifying and the race. How Ricciardo is doing compared to Norris is also going to say a lot about Sainz's performance.
As with Renault, it will take a while for Ricciardo to get used to his new car, but now that he already has the experience of switching teams, this step will be easier. I expect Ricciardo to win the duel in qualifying and certainly in the race against Norris. The Brit did well against Sainz, but it was never really convincing.
Ricciardo is of a higher level than Sainz, witness his duel against Nico Hulkenberg. Norris made a visible step forward on Sunday in 2020, but he will have to do even more to beat Ricciardo. If he is also going to lose the duels against Ricciardo on Sunday, we have to ask how big Norris is as a talent?
This article was written and originally published by Tim on the Dutch edition of GPblog.com.