McLaren's Lando Norris says he has "no sympathy" for teammate Daniel Ricciardo as the Aussie struggles to find his marks with the Woking-based outfit.
After a two-year stint with Renault, Ricciardo opted to open a new chapter in his F1 career by joining McLaren. But the seven-time Grand Prix winner's transition hasn't been a seamless one, with the Aussie struggling to get on top of his new Mercedes-powered machine.
Ricciardo was outpaced and outscored by Norris in the first three races of the season, but a step forward last weekend in Spain allowed McLaren's recruit to better the latter in qualifying and on race day.
Assessing his teammate's quandary, Norris made clear that he had no compassion for Ricciardo's plight.
"I don't want to be mean, but I don't have sympathy," Norris told selected members of the media.
"At the end of the day, it was his decision to come to McLaren. It is the decision of any driver to go to a different team and it is up to him to do a good job."
Norris said that he has no inclination to help his teammate, but the Briton believes Ricciardo will "get there eventually".
"It is as simple as that. It is up to him, it is not up to me to help him or up to me to make him feel better. It is his job," he added.
"He will get there eventually but I don't have sympathy for someone if they are struggling or if they are finding it tough.
"That is just the way it is in life sometimes and I am sure other drivers are having the same thing."
©McLaren
McLaren has enjoyed a double points finish at each race so far, a result that has positioned the papaya squad third in the Constructors' standings, five points ahead of Ferrari.
But Norris believes a Ricciardo fighting higher up the order will only strengthen McLaren and help it fend off its midfield rivals.
"We are still early days," he said. "We know he is going to get there eventually so we will still be able to fight strongly."
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