McLaren: a Piastri/Norris duo in sync
Oscar Piastri claims to have already "learned a lot" from his teammate at McLaren, Lando Norris, during his first few months with the team. Both men share the same expectations for the MCL60.
The young Australian driver, Oscar Piastri, made his debut in F1 this season with the McLaren team, replacing his compatriot Daniel Ricciardo. The reigning F2 champion, Piastri entered the elite with a high level of popularity and high expectations on his shoulders, which he is already living up to.
The rookie believes that evolving alongside the British driver Lando Norris, who is in his fifth season in F1, is beneficial for him because his teammate serves as a benchmark for him, especially in the driving of their MCL60. « I feel like we work in a very similar way in terms of what we expect from the car,” he admitted. « It’s good for the team. For the engineers, it gives them a very clear direction. »
McLaren, rediscovered alchemy
Norris had expressed the same sentiment in the columns of Autosport, praising the fact that their feeling of the car was similar, which was not the case in previous years with Ricciardo. “Our feedback is probably a bit more in line with what it has been in previous years,” said the McLaren driver, who has been in a McLaren seat since 2019.
“We generally want the same thing,” Norris concluded, “and I think that’s a good thing.”
For the moment, Piastri is meeting expectations and even competing with his teammate. This is evidenced by his Q3 in Jeddah as well as a recent 8th place in Melbourne, behind Norris in 6th. Both drivers scored the first points for McLaren this season on that occasion.
The first performances of Piastri were praised by McLaren boss Zak Brown, who stated that the initial indications show that Oscar will be on the same pace as Lando.
McLaren will debut in Baku with its first major improvements that are intended to address the car’s aerodynamic inefficiency. This gives even more hope for the young duo.
