Lando Norris believes Daniel Ricciardo has a different “mentality” when compared to Carlos Sainz. The McLaren driver asserted that he was keen to learn a thing or two from his future teammate, given his experience in F1.

Lando Norris on Daniel Ricciardo

In signing Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren easily emerged with one of the best driver announcements from the initial bouts of silly season madness. The Aussie’s experienced, a proven race winner and somebody who can handle the pressure.

With Mercedes’s power to play with and star driver in Ricciardo as an unofficial team leader, McLaren has plenty to cheer about next year. However, it also brings in a new set of challenges for Lando Norris.

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McLaren sees big potential in the 20-year-old and he’s slowly settling into the McLaren mold. But Ricciardo’s arrival makes things a little complicated.

Teaming up with one of the best drivers of the grid can be daunting, especially for Norris, who’s yet to experience this level of rivalry. With Carlos Sainz, there was an air of comfort and a lack of real competition. This isn’t to say Sainz and Norris weren’t competitive but with Daniel, it’s on another level.

Given the same machinery, an F1 driver’s first true rival is always his teammate. As a result, all eyes will be on Norris next season. The Briton opened up on how his current teammate was different from the Honey Badger. Speaking to Motorsport.com, Norris said:

“He’s got the experience of winning races, and that’s something that Carlos didn’t, although Carlos is an extremely good driver,”

“Daniel’s obviously just got that bit more experience with working with those top teams”

“and knowing what’s exactly needed to win races.

“So his mentality of that side of things is something that’s going to be different from what Carlos had and I think Staying in it and working with a different team-mate is the first time I have been in this situation”

“So I don’t really know what to expect, I think it’s still relatively new for me.

“He’s got the experience of working with a race-winning team and he knows what’s needed from them. Learning from him on that side of things I think is the most valuable part.