McLaren’s Oscar Piastri learning a lot from Lando Norris

Oscar Piastri is in his rookie season with McLaren this year, after spending 2022 as Alpine's reserve driver.

Piastri moved to the Woking-based outfit at the end of last year, replacing Daniel Ricciardo, who moved back to Red Bull as their reserve and simulator driver.

The young McLaren driver has had a tough start to his F1 career. His debut lasted just 14 laps as his car failed to restart after a steering wheel change in the pitlane. He had a better time in Saudi Arabia, finishing P15, two places ahead of his teammate Lando Norris.

Last weekend's Australian GP was his best result to date, as a combination of chaos across the grid, three red flags, and multiple safety car periods saw him finish P8 and pick up his maiden points in Formula 1.

Piastri is keeping a close eye on Norris to learn as much as he can — both on and off the track — from his more seasoned teammate. The Australian praised the Brit and said that he was a good 'benchmark' to have in the team. He said (via motorsport-total):

"I see that when I work with him. I see it the same way he does that we expect the same from the car and also have a similar way of working. It's also good for the team because we give the engineers a clear direction can pretend!"

The 22-year-old added:

"I see how he deals with small details and how he approaches the debriefings. There are always areas where I can improve and having him as a benchmark is really good."

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"He's making me give my all" - Lando Norris on McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri

McLaren's Lando Norris has praised Oscar Piastri's efforts in the opening races of the 2023 F1 season and stated that the young Aussie is always pushing him to the limit.

He also stated that the two have very similar driving styles, which goes down well with the team's engineers.

He said:

"Our feedback is probably a bit more similar than in previous years. I think that's a good thing because we have better dynamics so the engineers, the aerodynamicists and the rest of the team can focus on that because we want the same thing, both on and off the track."

He added:

"I'm not going to praise him too much, but he's doing a very good job and I think he understands the car well, even if it's not easy to drive," says Norris, who at 23 is the leader among the drivers McLaren drivers took over. "He's had the only Q3 in Saudi Arabia so far, so he's making me give my all."