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Daniel Ricciardo is being destroyed mentally and physically by his McLaren teammate Lando Norris at great cost to what remains of his F1 career, according to Eddie Jordan.
Jordan ran his own F1 team from 1991 to 2005 and was the person who gave Michael Schumacher his debut in the sport at the 1991 Belgian GP. The Briton has been in and around the sport ever since as a television pundit and analyst.
Speaking in an interview with Channel 4 after the 2022 F1 Monaco GP, where Daniel Ricciardo was once again outshone by Lando Norris, Jordan wondered how long it could continue in this manner for the Australian. The 74-year-old said:
āHeās letting races flow by, and you very seldom get a chance to claw this back. I think Iād be watching his career path from now on, because Iām not sure how much further he can go. Lando [Norris] is destroying him, mentally, physically, and on the track. And when you have that kind of a scenario inside of a team, it gets to you. So he needs to shake it up immediately.ā
The comments followed McLaren CEO Zak Brown's admission that Daniel Ricciardo's time with the Woking-based team had not met the expectations of both parties.
Ricciardo arrived at McLaren at the start of 2021 after a two-year spell with Renault that was frustrating for the 32-year-old. In 29 races since, the Honey Badger has only had one podium finish to his name, a fortuitous win at the 2021 Italian GP after both Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen crashed out in front.
In contrast, Lando Norris has five podium finishes and one pole position with McLaren during the same tenure of 29 races. He has also out-qualified Ricciardo 21-8 since the pair became teammates.
"My skin is tanned, beautiful, and also thick" - Daniel Ricciardo after being criticized by McLaren CEO Zak Brown
Daniel Ricciardo has admitted that McLaren boss Zak Brown's criticism of him was akin to water rolling off a duck's back.
After Brown said that the Australian's time at McLaren had not gone according to plan so far, Ricciardo shared his thoughts before the 2022 F1 Monaco GP. He said:
āWell, itās not false. Itās pretty true. Itās something thatā¦ well, firstly, comments like that I donāt take personally. My skin is tanned, beautiful, and also thick. But itāsā¦ yeahā¦ no oneās going to be harder on me than myself. I know that I donāt want to be racing around in 10th, 12th places. I still believe I can be at the front, and belong at the front.ā
The Honey Badger went on to add, saying:
āSo, itās been a little bit more, certainly testing at times, in terms of obviously trying to get up and maximise myself in this car. But yeah, weāre working together hard at it. And the team wants it, I want it and weāre just working through it.ā
Daniel Ricciardo has only scored points on one occasion in 2022, at the Australian GP in Melbourne. Heading into the 2022 F1 Azerbaijan GP in Baku, Ricciardo is in P11 in the World Drivers' Championship standings with 11 points to his name.
Should his performances not improve as the season progresses, the 32-year-old could soon be replaced at McLaren.
