McLaren would really love a strong race weekend in Sao Paulo. As they trail Alpine by just 5 points in the fight for P4. Well, guess their luck, Lando Norris falls sick due to food poisoning before the Brazil weekend. Yet he turns up on Friday and qualifies his car 4th on the grid for the Sprint race. And then there’s Daniel Ricciardo. Let’s say the Honey Badger missed the Mexico pace in Sao Paulo.

Journalist Peter Windsor analyzed McLaren’s performance in Brazilian GP qualifying, comparing Norris’ pace with Daniel Ricciardo. Windsor mentioned, “He [Norris] looked great in the car. He looked fabulous this afternoon. He was always there, right there.”

“Particularly when the conditions were wet, semi-wet, and quite difficult. There was Lando getting in the lap time. Completing showing up Daniel Ricciardo.”

On Ricciardo’s performance, Windsor said, “Daniel just looks like a guy, who is switched off and thinking of what he is going to do in the rest of his life now, to me”

He mentioned how it’s disappointing for McLaren with the fight for P4 in the championship quite close.

“Alpine has got both cars in the Top 10 in qualifying. And there’s Daniel Ricciardo at the back, doing nothing. It’s kind of a shame.”

Daniel Ricciardo “At Peace” With 2022 F1 Season Being His Last Dance

In Mexico, we saw Daniel send some overtakes. McLaren would love him to deliver similar performances on Sunday at Interlagos in a close fight with Alpine. With the Saturday Sprint done and dusted, Norris finished in 7th and Ricciardo got P11.

Will Daniel Ricciardo step up in the McLaren vs. Alpine battle?

McLaren has fought with one hand tied in their battle for P4 with Alpine in 2022. Despite a struggling car at the start of the season in Bahrain, they have tried to develop the MCL36 well to keep pace with the mid-field. Although Norris has been able to extract the full potential from his McLaren, his Aussie teammate has struggled.

The young Briton has had the edge over Ricciardo throughout the Australian’s time at McLaren since last year. While Lando has amassed 113 points with the MCL36 and is 7th in the championship standings in 2022, Daniel is 12th with just 35 points.

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With the 2022 regulations, there was hope that the Aussie might turn a corner with the handling of McLaren’s new car. But to no avail, as it’s been a repeat of last season, perhaps worse for Daniel.

Watch This Story: McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo – Oscar Piastri Saga Explained

On the other hand, Ricciardo’s former team Alpine (then Renault) has smoothly managed to maintain brilliant speed and development over the season. Their only cause of concern has been, you guessed it – Reliability! If not for reliability-related issues, the Enstone outfit could potentially be well clear of McLaren in the Constructors.

As we turn toward the conclusion of the season, it’s going to be interesting to see if Alpine can hold off McLaren’s challenge. With just 2 races to go, which team will finish 4th in 2022?