Has the Ricciardo-Piastri drama damaged McLaren atmosphere?

Piastri will drive for McLaren in the F1 2023 season - it emerged that he signed a contract on July 4, nine days before Ricciardo claimed he would not “walk away” from the team.

Ricciardo, after the final year of his McLaren deal was paid off, is searching for opportunities to remain in the F1 2023 driver line-up amid some of the poorest form of his career.

Norris said about the atmosphere at McLaren after qualifying in seventh at the F1 Dutch Grand Prix to Sky: “It is still great, even from Daniel’s side.

“You understand when people put in effort and when people don’t care. You see how much Daniel still tries to understand it all, putting in time and effort.

“Daniel will be more motivated than ever to end on a high.

“It’s still good. The mechanics are loving it. The team is energised.

“It’s tough because running for P10 and P12 is not what you want. There are still glimpses of ‘this is where we can be’.”

Norris said about Piastri becoming his new teammate next season: “I am looking forward to working with someone new, it will be different. You talk in different ways, and understand each other differently.

“It will be a big challenge for me, a new challenge for me and the whole team. 

“I don’t know Oscar too well. I’ve only spoken to him twice, ever. But he is obviously a good talent.”

Ricciardo endured a disappointing qualifying, finishing in 17th, then said to Sky: “It was going OK. It wasn’t electrifying but it was OK. Coming up to the last corner there was dirt everywhere so I lost three-tenths of a second. That was the difference.”

McLaren were fined €5000 for an unsafe release of Norris in Q1.