It was big news when Daniel Ricciardo left Renault (now Alpine) to join McLaren in 2021. Looking at their jolly personalities, Ricciardo and his to-be McLaren teammate, Lando Norris, was touted to be the next big bromance after Norris and Carlos Sainz. And they had good chemistry between them. But certain instances confused fans as to how they actually felt about each other. Coming back to the present day, Norris has set the record straight with his latest comments on his brotherhood with Ricciardo.

On multiple occasions, we had seen Ricciardo and Norris getting along very well with each other. But Netflix’s ‘Drive to Survive’ docu-series showed something else. Their producers seemed hell-bent on showing a cold war between the two drivers. Then, Norris’ “no sympathy” comment on Ricciardo’s failures was also blown out of proportion. However, the confusion has been cleared, as Lando Norris had only good to say about the Honey Badger in a recent interview.

When asked about his ex-teammate, Norris said, “Daniel is my inspiration for smiling. I miss him. We had dinner together the other night. Yeah, sad but I love Daniel.” As soon as he started speaking about Ricciardo, the crowd gave a loud cheer. That loud cheer should make it known how much fans love the pairing. On-track, Ricciardo might not have had a good stint with McLaren, but off-track, he has created a lot of memories. And it is very heartwarming to know that they still keep in touch.

While he might be missing his old McLaren teammate, there is one thing Norris wants to get rid of and it is a 5-year-old problem with the McLaren car.

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Lando Norris Highlights 5-Year-Old McLaren Woes

Norris has been visibly struggling with the MCL60 this season. Even after starting in the top 10 in the last two races, no points have been scored for the team. Ahead of the Austrian GP, he had good things to say about the new upgrades but highlighted a problem that they have been having for the last 5 years.

Norris said, as quoted by MSN, “It’s different things, it’s not just the fact it’s a long corner. It’s how you’re able to drive corners, how you’re able to release the brake, that we just don’t have. That’s just not good either. There are feelings I have in the car that we’ve had for the last five years and haven’t changed.”

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Such problems might be an issue, but the Briton also commended the team for fast-tracking their upgrades in time for the Austrian GP. Can the latest upgrade package be what they need to get out of the midfield and fight for glory again?