When Daniel Ricciardo joined Lando Norris at McLaren at the start of this year, Formula 1 fans were looking forward to what they’d dubbed a “meme power couple”.
Ricciardo and Norris are both known for their great senses of humour and are easily the most playful pair of drivers on the grid. While the Aussie and the Brit haven’t quite developed a relationship as close as Norris’ friendship with former McLaren (now Ferrari) driver Carlos Sainz Jr., they still get on well. Looks like they’re also not afraid to play pranks on each other either, as this weekend has revealed.
In Brazil for the São Paulo Grand Prix at Interlagos, Ricciardo jumped on Instagram to show how he’d sneakily applied a #3 sticker (Ricciardo’s racing number) to the top of Norris’ helmet, covering up the young driver’s #4. Pretty cheeky, considering that it was Norris’ birthday on the day.
Watch Daniel Ricciardo troll Lando Norris in Brazil below.
Seems Lando didn’t notice the subtle troll before getting in the car, as he actually drove out of the garage with the sticker still on his helmet… Happy birthday, mate!
Thankfully either Norris or one of his pit crew noticed the sticker before the actual race, as images from the hard-fought Brazilian spin show Norris’ helmet sans #3. It would’ve been pretty embarrassing if Norris had to take the podium with another driver’s number on his dome, especially his teammate’s.
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As it happened, neither McLaren driver made the podium at Interlagos. Norris scraped into the points with a 10th place finish, while Ricciardo suffered a power unit failure on lap 51 and was forced to retire, bringing an end to his 34-race finishing streak – the longest on the grid until last weekend.
There are only 3 more races left in the 2021 Formula 1 World Championship. Next up we have the Qatar Grand Prix from the 19th to the 21st of November, where Ricciardo, Norris and McLaren will be looking to regain their 3rd place position in the constructor’s championship after slipping behind Ferrari.