F1 2019: Daniel Ricciardo teases Lando Norris in Singapore GP conference

Daniel Ricciardo is living in a rising Formula 1 star’s head rent free, taking less than 10 seconds to bring him undone at the Singapore Grand Prix.

Lando Norris (L) and Daniel Ricciardo (R) react as they attend a press conference in Singapore.

Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris set a dangerous precedent earlier in the season at the British Grand Prix drivers press conference, so it was only natural to pair them up again.

Renault driver Ricciardo derailed the Silverstone press conference in July after bringing McLaren teenage rookie Norris to tears over a very personal question.

At Singapore on Thursday, Norris came prepared to cop the Australian’s probing humour, but couldn’t even get past his first question from the floor.

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“I gave him 10 seconds. I knew you’d start laughing within 10 seconds,” Ricciardo told Norris, who couldn’t take the situation seriously after being asked about his tough period post-summer break.

At the surface, the Ricciardo-Norris comedy provided light relief for media types in the room, but the battle between the two drivers’ teams remains the key talking point within McLaren vs. Renault circles.

McLaren’s pain became Renault’s gain in Monza, with Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg recording a brilliant weekend for the French outfit last time out in Italy.

It was a welcome result for Renault, with both cars demonstrating strong one-lap pace at a circuit not tailored to the team’s tricky package, before both cars finished in the top five — the first such occasion for a works Renault team in nearly 11 years.

Ricciardo and Norris joke in the drivers press conference in Singapore.

When asked if Italy — where he finished fourth, and Hulkenberg fifth — was a “shot in the arm” for Ricciardo, he responded in humorous kind, but also acknowledged the team’s clear progress at circuits they were expected to show signs of struggle.

“I don’t like needles, so normally I don’t like a shot in the arm,” Ricciardo joked.

“It was definitely good for us. I think it had been a while since we had a big result like that — obviously Canada was the standout in the first half of the year.

“I think Spa was a pretty positive weekend for us up until the start of the race. I think we were on for a decent result there, but then to back it up in Monza, and both cars to do it, was really good … definitely strong from the start of the weekend.

“Obviously it’s nice as a driver to get the result, but definitely for the team to get that, I think they had been craving a strong result, from both cars as well, and to get us back in the points, or in that points battle we’re in.”

[Trying not to laugh] [Trying not to laugh] [Laughing] #SingaporeGP pic.twitter.com/Nz37tyo8HW

— Lando Norris (@LandoNorris) September 19, 2019

Questions have been raised over Ricciardo’s future with Renault, and with the team falling well behind customer team McLaren ahead of the summer break, something had to give.

Pace at Spa and results at Monza weren’t just healthy for Renault — it was necessary for a team previously lacking serious confidence.

Making the most of McLaren’s dramas has seen Renault close to within 18 points of the British team, with both squads desperate to claim the all-important, ‘best of the rest’ fourth place in the constructors’ standings.

“Obviously McLaren were running away with it but we made some good ground,” Ricciardo said.

“I think I made an emphasis afterwards to kind of tip my hat to the engine guys, especially the guys working at Renault in Viry.

“To get a big result like that on power circuit, not many would have predicted that, especially in the last few years, so to come out there and do it in Monza I think was a big pat on the back for them.”

“I don’t like needles, so normally I don’t like a shot in the arm.”

Ricciardo was unsure how the R.S.19 would perform around the bumpy Singapore circuit, but took inspiration from a solid weekend at Monaco where the two Renaults showed decent one-lap pace.

The trick for Renault in Singapore will be to get it right over race distance, which at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, runs to two hours in oppressive conditions.

Regardless, the Monza result has the French team running with valuable momentum, but Ricciardo knows the team will have to work even harder in Singapore to repeat the previous event’s success.

“The last few races we seem to perform better on lower downforce circuits, but going back to Monaco that’s the most similar circuit to probably here and we qualified quite well there,” he said.

“I think we do have the potential to be good on this circuit as well. I don’t think it comes as natural for us or our car at the moment.

“But I definitely think we can put it together, so we might have to work a little bit harder for it but I think the pace is ultimately there in the car, we just have to find it. But it’s a fun one.

“As all the boys really said, it’s physical, it’s hot, bumpy but street circuits, and they’re a good time.”