Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris will be no ‘comedy duo’ for McLaren

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Personality in a Formula One racer is vital, on and off the track. And few have more personality than Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, who have shone with their vibrant smiles and skilful racing.

The pair will join up at McLaren for the 2021 season after Ricciardo made the switch from Renault in the offseason.

From interrupting interviews to bursting into laughing fits in press conferences, the duo is expected to be one of the more exciting driving tandems in the paddock.

And certainly, McLaren will be aware of the marketable nature of both. Like it or not, the off-track value of drivers matters to teams.

But that is not the only reason why McLaren signed Ricciardo to partner Norris, as the Australian himself explained.

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“It’s something I want to reiterate to everyone watching, and every fan of McLaren in particular,” Ricciardo told Sky Sports.

“It’s not going to be a comedy show. I’m going there for business, I’m going there to improve the car.

“My personality won’t change so I think I do enjoy doing what I do… but I’m certainly not going there to be this meme power couple or whatever it’s described as these days!”

Personality is important, yes, but pace, leadership, driving skill, and, ultimately, points, are more important, and both Ricciardo and Norris can provide that.

Norris will enter his third season in F1. He has just one podium finish across his first two seasons, that coming in the Austrian Grand Prix last year, but he has shown plenty of promise at a young age – he only turned 21 in November.

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The young Brit finished just eight points behind his team-mate Carlos Sainz in the Drivers’ Championship last season, while McLaren enjoyed a positive campaign, finishing third in the Constructors’ Championship.

There were enough signs for McLaren to be positive about his future, as CEO Zak Brown recently highlighted.

“If you look at what he did last year, he and Carlos are even again effectively in qualifying, pretty much even in points so Lando had a better year as far as points versus his team-mate,” he said as reported by GP fans.

“He had some awesome starts, some awesome races, some awesome battles which was an area we wanted to see him step up to and he has done that.”

And then there is Ricciardo, the more experienced and accomplished driver who more than merits his place with the team.

This is a driver with 31 podiums and seven race wins. Twice he finished third in the Drivers’ Championship with Red Bull, pushing and eventually surpassing Sebastian Vettel in 2014, with the four-time world champion then moving to Ferrari.

Even in a sub-par Renault last season, he finished in fifth place in the Drivers’ Championship, almost doubling his Esteban Ocon’s 62 points.

McLaren will also replace the Renault engine with the Mercedes engine next year. They suffered from major reliability issues with the former and are excited by the performance of an engine that has won the last seven world titles.

Norris and Ricciardo, then, will be an enjoyable watch off the track. And there is good reason to be excited about the fun that they will provide fans with throughout the season.

But they are not just a “comedy duo”. They are talented, high-performing racers, and with the right car, they could enjoy a very competitive 2021 season.

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