Rookie Oscar Piastri is ‘keeping Lando Norris on his toes’ at McLaren
Lando Norris believes Oscar Piastri has gotten up to pace quickly at McLaren.
Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri
Oscar Piastri signed with McLaren for the 2023 F1 season. The Australian driver replaced his fellow countryman Daniel Ricciardo on the Woking-based team. High expectations were laid on Piastri in a bid to match teammate Lando Norris. As Norris consistently outpaced Ricciardo during their time as teammates. Now, Norris has praised his new teammate for his decent start to the season.
The 23-year-old acknowledged Oscar Piastri‘s performances so far despite the troubling nature of the McLaren MCL60. The Woking-based team has fallen behind in the pecking order as the car has struggled to keep up with rivals. Yet Piastri has managed to meet the team’s expectations. Lando stated, “He’s done a very good job. I think he’s understood the car well, it’s obviously not an easy car to drive.”
Moreover, Norris highlighted the Saudi Arabian GP weekend. When Oscar Piastri managed to qualify for the top ten shootouts in Q3, this has been the team’s only Q3 so far this season. The British driver explained, “For sure, I think he did a very good job in Saudi. He got into Q3, the only Q3 this year so far.” Lando further expressed how he finally has a teammate who can push him this season. The 23-year-old continued, “So, he’s keeping me on my toes.”
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Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri want a similar direction for the MCL60
The British driver took a dig at his former teammate Daniel Ricciardo as Norris mentioned that Oscar Piastric’s remarks are in a similar region as the 23-year-old. Something that was lacking during Daniel Ricciardo’s time on the team. Lando said, “Our comments are probably a little bit more in line than what they have been in previous years,”
Norris was glad to have his teammate wanting to develop the car in the same direction. As McLaren will be able to meet the needs of both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri without the need for compromises. Lando Norris stated, “Which again, is a good thing, just because it’s better a dynamic for keeping the focus for the engineers, the aerodynamicists, the rest of the team back in MTC.”
The 23-year-old believed he and Oscar Piastri wanted the same approach to developing the MCL60. Lando said, “We kind of want the same anything in general, and I think that’s a good thing.” Lastly, the Briton was glad to have the Australian as his teammate. His teammate was finally challenging Norris after a couple of underwhelming years with Ricciardo. He concluded, “So, from both sides, the off-track and the on-track, it’s a good start, and he’s keeping me on my toes.”
Thus, Lando Norris has hinted that the British driver finally has a challenging teammate. The 23-year-old is facing competition from Oscar Piastri this season. However, it seems that Norris is enjoying this pressure that was lacking when Ricciardo was his teammate. However, it remains to be seen how this pairing shapes over the course of the season.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2035 Articles Published)