11/11/2021
NEWS STORY
Despite a poor weekend in Mexico which saw their team leapfrogged for P3 by Ferrari, McLaren pair, Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris insist all is not lost.
While Norris was compromised from the outset due to an engine penalty, Ricciardo's hopes were dashed at Turn 1 when he tangled with Valtteri Bottas, leaving both having to pit for repairs.
Consequently, while Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz finished fifth and sixth, adding 18 points to the Italian team's tally, Norris' sole point for tenth meant the Woking outfit was leapfrogged for the third in the ll-important constructor standings.
Nonetheless, both drivers insist they can overcome their Maranello rivals in the remaining races.
"Absolutely, absolutely, it's still doable," Ricciardo told reporters at Interlagos today. "We've been, let's say, third for most of the season; now they are.
"Let's see," he continued. "We'll be the hunters and let's see what happens. I think it's going to go down to the last race.
"I do think we can peg it back and come back in the fight," he insisted, "and yes, obviously Mexico wasn't great from a points swing but no concerns, I think we're still very much in it."
"Ferrari have been the stronger team lately," added Norris, "they've been the guys who have been consistently ahead in qualifying and the races. So, looking at the stats lately, you would put them ahead. But we're working hard, we've done a lot of reviews from Mexico and looking back at two years ago we had a pretty decent car and Carlos was on the podium… so we're hopeful, we're confident we can have a good weekend.
"We've had bad weekends, Ferrari have had bad weekends," he added, " we have to make sure we bounce back this weekend with a better one."
Reflecting on last weekend, he said: "I think from my side we maximised everything. I don't think we could have done a lot more.
"Yes, the car wasn't as competitive as where we have been in previous races," he admitted, "but that's just the way it is, and I think we have to be happy that we maximised what we could.
"We still got one point and that's better than nothing, it could be crucial come the end of the season. But as a team, and with Daniel's incident, putting himself at the back having to do the front wing change, of course that's where we lost out a little bit."
Check out our Thursday gallery from Interlagos, here.