Oscar Piastri targets challenging Lando Norris as the next step in his evolution

Oscar Piastri has targeted challenging teammate Lando Norris as the next step of his evolution in F1. The young driver was touted very highly by F1 pundits before he even made his debut. Piastri came into the sport on the back of multiple championship wins in lower divisions.

Piastri was offered a seat by Alpine for the 2023 season, but the Australian driver rejected their proposal and joined McLaren instead. In his debut season, he has been learning the ropes and making gradual progress in every race.

However, he hasn't been able to push teammate Lando Norris, who is enjoying a brilliant season. After McLaren's recent updates to the car, Piastri took a step forward, securing a P2 finish in the sprint in Spa.

Talking to Speedweek, the 22-year-old Australian admitted that he was happy with where he found himself in terms of performance but was looking to take the next step in his evolution and challenge his teammate. He said:

"Try and continue to build on getting quicker, having complete races and just eliminating some of these mistakes. I’m obviously able to get quite close to Lando in most sessions, but I want to take that next step and really be able to challenge him. I want to try and continue to improve myself. I’m happy with the level I’m at, but I feel like there still can be more."

Possible signs of trouble for Lando Norris with a surging Oscar Piastri?

Piastri has been very impressive in his debut season in F1 and certainly suffers from no lack of ambition, as highlighted by his recent comments about challenging Norris in the future. However, there is a possibility that Piastri's rise could start causing trouble at McLaren if the team continues to improve. The better the team gets, the higher the stakes will be when it comes to the positions the drivers will be fighting for.

This could lead to friction between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri because both drivers already perform at a very similar level. It will be interesting to see what happens at McLaren because the team has a bad track record of handling competitive teammates (remember Fernando Alonso vs Lewis Hamilton or Ayrton Senna vs Alain Prost?).

Fans will certainly keep an eye out for how the relationship between Piastri and Norris develops in the future.