Daniel Ricciardo 'not worried' by Lando Norris' supreme rise at McLaren

McLaren ace Daniel Ricciardo has said that he is happy for Lando Norris and his signing of a new contract with the team and that he is not worried by the Briton potentially following Max Verstappen as a leading star in a garage in Formula 1.

The MCL36 was launched at the end of last week by the McLaren team, with them hoping that 2022 is going to be a campaign that sees them regularly challenging for podiums and victories.

They’ve tried to keep things realistic in terms of expectations but there is certainly excitement around the team, and that was underlined by Lando Norris committing his future to them by signing a new four-year contract last week that will run until the end of 2025.

Undoubtedly, Norris is a Formula 1 star with him shining particularly bright in 2021, as he led the team to a fourth-placed finish in the Constructors’ championship whilst Ricciardo aimed to get to grips with his new car.

And, that said, there has been some suggestion that Norris could become an outright no.1 driver within the team if form from 2021 continues, drawing similarities to the situation that has seen Max Verstappen lead the Red Bull challenge in recent years.

Sky Italia asked Ricciardo about that prospect, then, but he revealed he was not concerned by it:

“No, I’m definitely not worried about that.

“If I look from McLaren’s perspective, or from a business point of view, I see it is a good move to keep Lando longer. It’s a win-win for both parties.”

“Happy for him,” Ricciardo told continued when asked about Norris’ new deal.

“McLaren did the right thing. For my part, I’m happy that I still have a couple of years and potentially even a little more in the contract.

“I’m also ten years older and don’t know what will happen in the