In the 2024 F1 season, Norris sees no surprise in Piastri’s strong performance, as their rivalry intensifies.
Lando Norris has stated he expects “nothing different” following his McLaren F1 teammate Oscar Piastri’s promising start to his second season in 2024.
Three races in, Piastri leads Norris in the driver standings by a narrow one-point margin (28 to 27).
Norris finished sixth in Bahrain and Piastri eighth, before Piastri took fourth and Norris eighth in Saudi Arabia. At Melbourne, Piastri was ahead of Norris before they had to swap positions, finishing third and fourth, respectively. Thus, no home podium for the Australian.
At this early stage, it’s evident Piastri can match Norris, but the team’s natural leader isn’t surprised by the Australian’s pace.
“Last year was already a very tough competition against him. Obviously, he’s improved, being his second year. He’s a bit more comfortable,” the British driver comments.
“He seemed comfortable last year, but now even more so.”
“He’s doing a good job. He has been since day one last year, so I expect nothing different.”
“He’ll push me, I’ll push him, and I look forward to our battles together.”
In 2023, Piastri secured McLaren’s sole race win with a Sprint triumph in Qatar, while also adding two Grand Prix podiums.
However, Norris outscored Piastri 205 to 97 in the driver championship as the Briton notched seven top-3 finishes in his best F1 season to date.
Still, Norris insists his teammate had the pace to push him from the start of their partnership.
“I’ve said since the first test we did last year, in pre-season, that he was up to speed.”
“Even though our feedback and the way we feel about things almost always align, and 99% of the time they’re the same, he always drives in a slightly different way.”
“Therefore, you always want a teammate who can push you, and in some corners, he’ll have a different style, and it works, and you can learn from that too.”
“Sometimes, my style, someone else’s, might work better elsewhere than mine. If your teammate is a good teammate, you’ll always learn things.”
Norris & Piastri: A Tight McLaren F1 Duel in 2024. Norris & Piastri: A Tight McLaren F1 Duel in 2024
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