'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Lando Norris has admitted that Oscar Piastri has pushed him more than Daniel Ricciardo did in the last couple of years. The Australian teamed up with Norris at McLaren in 2021 and 2022. During that time, while Ricciardo struggled to keep up with Norris, the younger teammate prospered.
That forced team principal Zak Brown to poach Oscar from his reserve driver role at Alpine. In just his first season as Norris' teammate, Piastri seems to have found his groove. The young rookie has been very competitive against Norris, and the deficit he's faced has not been much in terms of performance.
Talking about Piastri, Norris admitted that the young driver has pushed him hard. Talking about his relationship with the rookie and how that has evolved, Lando Norris told RacingNews365:
“I’ve said previously, I'm not afraid to say it. He's pushed me more than the last couple of years. He’s just adapted quicker to driving the car. And therefore he's pushed me more.
"It’s a good thing for me because you do want somebody who can push you, someone you can learn from. You're always going to be learning.”
Lando Norris draws comparisons with Mercedes duo
Lando Norris drew comparisons with the Mercedes duo of George Russell and Lewis Hamilton and how the more experienced driver is getting pushed by the younger one.
He talked about how Hamilton also gets to learn from Russell and apply his learnings to get better. Norris said:
“I’m sure now Lewis (Hamilton) is learning a lot from George (Russell). George is doing a very good job. He beats him some of the time.
"And I'm sure Lewis is looking at the data sometimes going ‘damn, I got to do this to be better’. And it's not like, he can just go ‘yeah, I can do that’. It just doesn't work. It's always going to be difficult for everyone.”
Oscar Piastri has taken the F1 world by surprise. The Australian has done an impressive job of making incremental progress every weekend and getting better. Piastri secured his first podium in Suzuka in the last race, where he outqualified Norris.
The partnership is surely a precarious one at McLaren because if it reaches a point where the two are battling for wins and podiums, things could spice up and become difficult to manage.
