Lando Norris admitted that he does not have sympathy for Daniel Ricciardo’s struggles at McLaren.
Ricciardo had been struggling to adapt to the McLaren machinery since joining the team in 2021. On Wednesday, McLaren confirmed that the Australian will leave the team after this season.
Norris revealed earlier this year that he was trying to help Ricciardo, although he had also found it difficult to get used to the MCL36 car.
When asked whether he had sympathy for Ricciardo’s problems, Norris replied: “I would hate to say it, but I would say no. People would probably hate me for saying it.
“It’s difficult because I never know if I might encounter that in the future, with this car or with a different team, or whatever.
“So I never want to contradict myself going into the future. I’ve just got to focus on my driving and my job. It’s not my job to focus on someone else.
“I’m not a driver coach, I’m not here to help and do those kinds of things. I’m here to perform at my absolute best, and that’s about it.
“So it’s difficult when people start to have an expectation that it’s my job to also start doing these other things and helping and describing this and doing that when that’s not really the case.
“And it’s also the case that if I don’t perform well for a few years that it can also be the end of my career, and the end of me driving and F1.
“So I’ve got to focus on myself for the majority of it. And every driver has to adapt to the scenarios they are in, and I feel like I’ve had to do that.”
