McLaren boss Zak Brown kicks Daniel Ricciardo while he’s down

While Daniel Ricciardo is reportedly fighting for his career, McLaren boss Zak Brown couldn’t help digging at old wounds.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has credited Daniel Ricciardo’s complete capitulation to Lando Norris for the young Brit’s breakthrough maiden F1 victory.

Norris, who earlier in the year broke the record for most podiums before a maiden victory with 15, finally secured his first win at the Miami Grand Prix.

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It was a big win as McLaren look to launch a challenge at the front of the grid after so many false starts over recent years.

Ricciardo arrived at McLaren in 2021 but other than a famous win at Monza — which was a 1-2 with Ricciardo finishing ahead of Norris — it was a tough time in the papaya for the Aussie star.

Over the two years at McLaren, Norris thumped Ricciardo by 130 championship points, including an 85-point difference in 2022.

It led to McLaren buying out the last year of Ricciardo’s deal and replacing him with young Aussie prodigy Oscar Piastri.

Ricciardo ended up as a reserve driver for AlphaTauri (now Visa Cash App RB), before being drafted into a seat mid-season for Nyck de Vries and impressing enough to be discussed as an option for Sergio Perez’ seat at Red Bull.

The talk of promotion has died down after Ricciardo’s brutal start to the season where he’s dropped to 1-5 in qualifying and 1-4 (both drivers did not finish in China) against teammate Yuki Tsunoda.

Daniel Ricciardo didn’t need that Zak. Photo: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images/AFP

In fact, Ricciardo has been at the centre of rumours of being replaced at RB by New Zealand youngster Liam Lawson, which have been denied by Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko.

But speaking on F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast after Norris finally broke through for his first F1 win, Brown credited the 24-year-old’s win on thumping Ricciardo when they were teammates.

“(Former teammate) Carlos (Sainz) and him (Lando) were very even from a standings point of view,” Brown said.

“Lando came in as the rookie and was comfortable being the rookie and didn’t feel that pressure that there was on the other side.

“Carlos was in his fifth season and Lando could handle him. Daniel didn’t put him under pressure and it probably helped his confidence a lot.

“Daniel is an incredible race driver and a lot of people thought he was going to show Lando how things are done, and in the end it was the other way around.

“He beat Daniel, a driver with seven victories in Formula 1 (at the time). Now, he is not so focused on his teammate, he is more on himself.”

Zak Brown with the Daniel Ricciardo backhander. Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images/AFP

While it helped Norris become an F1 race winner, it didn’t help Ricciardo, who took time away from the sport after his McLaren exit.

He said last year that being able to take six months away from the sport gave the Aussie the “second wind” he needed.

Unfortunately, Ricciardo hasn’t set the world on fire this season but showed he still had something in recent races, particularly in the Miami sprint race.

The 34-year-old qualified and finished the race fourth, holding off Ferrari’s Sainz and Piastri to claim his first points of the season.

Unfortunately, Ricciardo qualified in 17th before a three-place penalty dropped him to 20th on the grid for the main race in Miami, where he ultimately finished 15th.

While Ricciardo had a torrid time at McLaren, Brown has previously said he “hated” having to sack Ricciardo, calling it the “toughest thing I’ve had in my time in motorsports”.

However, he added he’s “still a huge Daniel fan — and that’ll never change”.

And Ricciardo’s still a bit of a Lando fan. Photo: Mark Thompson/Getty Images/AFP

But Brown’s decision to move one Aussie on for another has proven fruitful already.

Piastri became the first driver to claim multiple podiums in his debut season since Lewis Hamilton in 2007 and also claimed victory in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race.

For the record, Piastri was 108 points behind Norris in his debut season, and is 42 points behind the Brit in 2024, although his tally of 41 points has already surpassed Ricciardo’s tally of 37 in his second season for McLaren

But Brown isn’t worried about the points at the moment as McLaren sit third in the constructor’s championship and Piastri is still finding his feet in Formula One.

“Lando is as good as anyone in Formula 1 and Oscar is a complement to him,” Brown said.

“Oscar is not there yet, he has some inconsistencies, tire management, but they are things that happen.

“What Lando did in his first year and a half, Oscar has equalled him. He is capable of doing everything Lando can do, and if he doesn’t, it is more due to inexperience.

“Oscar is going to get better and better and that’s why I’m very excited about our driver duo.

“Lando is as good as anyone in Formula 1 and with him and Oscar, that tells me that we have two of the best drivers there are.”