Track Torque Podcast: Is Daniel Ricciardo’s fate sealed after another finish behind McLaren teammate?

McLaren outperformed everyone’s expectations at the Australian Grand Prix, yet Daniel Ricciardo again finished behind teammate Lando Norris after team orders not to overtake. So where does the Australian stand within his team?

Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo finished fifth and sixth respectively on the weekend. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Daniel Ricciardo’s sixth place at the Australian Grand Prix was better than McLaren could’ve hoped for, says The Times’ motorsport writer Rebecca Clancy on this week’s Track Torque podcast.

Ricciardo finished behind teammate Lando Norris (fifth) at Albert Park, an improvement on what the Track Torque panel thought the pair would achieve in Melbourne. The Australian was ordered by McLaren not to overtake his British teammate late in the race.

“I had Danny Ricciardo seventh in the preview, and I was surprised with the result,” Clancy says.

“Purely because when I spoke to him after the race, they didn’t seem to really know what had changed. Obviously it’s a slightly different circuit and layout. The new layout was really fast.

“They just seem to have got it all together. I was surprised to see [Norris and Ricciardo] both up there and doing well.”

As far as Ricciardo’s standing at McLaren, Clancy wouldn’t be surprised if Norris continues to outrace him.

“I think we were all surprised to see Lando outperform Danny Ricciardo last year to the extent that he did. I would be surprised if that happened again,” she says.

“Lando is just this really cheeky, doesn't care, loving life. He just gets into that car every day and is like, this is literally heaven.

“Danny Ric is against this pressure, he’s an eight-time race winner, he’s got to prove himself. It puts them in different positions and mindsets. Lando is outperforming him at the moment.”

CodeSports’ ‘Track Torque’ podcast will provide the best analysis of the F1 season throughout 2022. Rebecca Clancy will be joined by News Corp Australia F1 experts Emily Benammar, Matt Hickey and other special guests to discuss all the latest news and results from around the world.

Originally published as Track Torque Podcast: Is Daniel Ricciardo’s fate sealed after another finish behind McLaren teammate?