Former Formula 1 team owner Eddie Jordan believes Lando Norris is ‘destroying’ Daniel Ricciardo both mentally and on the track after the Monaco Grand Prix.
Ricciardo’s second season at McLaren since switching from Renault is proving to be a challenge once more. The 32-year-old has struggled with pace this season, and his place on the team is reportedly under close examination after he finished P13 in Monaco while his British teammate secured a stellar sixth place finish in his McLaren.
With criticism raining on Ricciardo from all angles, he is not even safe from his own boss as McLaren CEO Zak Brown declared the eight-time race winner has not met expectations since joining ahead of the 2021 season. His performances have been a stark contrast to Norris, who has consistently topped his teammate this season - even when riddled with tonsillitis in Barcelona.
In the Drivers’ Championship, Norris is seventh with 48 points while Ricciardo is just 11th with only 11 points. As a result, there are rumours that McLaren will not extend the Australian’s contract, and Jordan believes Ricciardo needs to bounce back as soon as he can.
“Ricciardo is letting the races go by and you rarely get a chance to get this back,” Jordan told Channel 4. “I’m not sure where else he can go.
“Lando is destroying him mentally, physically and on the track and when you have that kind of scenario inside a team, it affects you. So you need to react immediately.”
Jacques Villeneuve, the 1997 F1 world champion, is more direct in his criticism. The Canadian believes Ricciardo’s stint at McLaren is nearing an abrupt end.
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“Ricciardo’s time at McLaren is up,” Villeneuve said. “Zak Brown is already talking about clauses in his contract, which basically means that they have already made a decision. That is a way of preparing the press and putting pressure on the driver.
“Ricciardo is a driver with a very high salary who is costing the team a lot of money. He does not add points and does not have the speed that the team needs to develop the car. So it is costing them money.
“It would be cheaper for McLaren to pay him his full salary and have Ricciardo at home, and have another driver in the car. It's a harsh reality, but that's F1.”
The 22-race F1 2022 campaign continues with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku on June 12.
