Lando Norris has openly admitted that he’s had to work a “little bit harder” this season following the arrival of rookie Oscar Piastri, who replaced Daniel Ricciardo.
The former Formula 2 and Formula 3 Champion has settled into Formula 1 and into McLaren quicker than anyone could’ve ever imagined, with him already being an F1 podium finisher.
Piastri secured his maiden podium in the series at the recent Japanese Grand Prix, where he finished P3.
Prior to that, he had finished second in the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race, an event he briefly led prior to being overtaken by Max Verstappen.
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Due to Piastri’s instant speed, Norris has been forced to work harder and raise his own levels, with the 23-year-old openly admitting that his rookie team-mate has pushed him more than Ricciardo or Carlos Sainz did.
With Piastri having entered F1 as many people’s favourite to become a future World Champion, beating the Australian is huge for Norris’ own market value.
Beating Piastri in many ways shows just how good Norris is, with the Briton having claimed four podiums in the last seven races.
Having the rookie alongside him has made life “more stressful” for Norris, although it’s an environment he’s thriving in.
Whilst Norris recognises how Piastri’s quick adjustment has forced him to work harder, the Brit also praises the fact it’s helped the team move forward, something they’ve undoubtedly done this year.
“I’m not afraid to say it, he’s pushed me more than the last couple of years,” Norris told RacingNews365.
“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.
“It’s been good. Of course, it’s more stressful having a quicker teammate. I have to deal with it.
“I have to work a little bit harder to understand some of his driving styles and how he does things because he does things which aren’t the most common at times.
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“It’s been good for me, good for the team. We kind of have similar comments, different ways at times driving, sometimes very similar. But our comments always generally want the same things.
“We’ve been brought up in different ways and drove different cars, different teams, so always our comments are going to be different.
“And that’s always a good thing that you kind of have two perspectives. I think ‘it needs to be better because of this’ and he goes ‘maybe it’ll be better because of this’.”