Damon Hill admits 24-year-old F1 driver is ‘under pressure’ right now because of his teammate

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Former F1 world champion Damon Hill has admitted that McLaren star Lando Norris is under pressure at the moment due to the fantastic performances of Oscar Piastri.

Hill was talking to journalist Tom Clarkson and fellow former driver Pedro De La Rosa on the F1 Nation Podcast.

The 2023 Formula 1 season has finally come to a close after a hectic 22-race schedule.

If the championship was the only thing that mattered, then everyone could have packed up and gone home after the Sprint Race in Qatar.

Max Verstappen had sewn up his third world title months before the race in Lusail, but that weekend clinched it for the Dutchman.

However, there was plenty still to play going into the final laps in Abu Dhabi for most of the other drivers and teams on the grid.

Charles Leclerc did everything he could to help Ferrari overtake Mercedes in the Constructors’ Championship, including letting Sergio Perez pass him.

There was a four-way battle for fourth in the driver’s standings which played a role in McLaren’s battle with Aston Martin.

While the bottom four teams were keeping a close eye on Yuki Tsunoda’s fantastic drive to see if AlphaTauri could leapfrog Williams.

One man who will ultimately be slightly disappointed with his fifth place on Sunday is Lando Norris.

Norris messed up his final qualifying lap and Damon Hill has suggested that he might be starting to feel the pressure.

The 24-year-old has been sensational since McLaren introduced a brilliant upgrade package in Austria.

He regularly featured on the podium in the second half of the year but that first Formula 1 win still eludes him.

Hill suggests Norris might be under pressure

Talking about the recent mistakes he’s been making in qualifying, Hill said: “Well, he’s under pressure isn’t he from his teammate?”

Tom Clarkson asked: “Do you think he’s just overdriving the car?”

Hill agreed and said: “I think he possibly has to because there’s a lot at stake being outqualified by your teammate.

“I mean don’t detract from the fact that if he thinks the car is going to be on the front row, he wants that.

“So, the teammate might not be a factor but in any case, you only make mistakes when you’re pushing yourself over the limit.

“The speed is there, we saw in the race that Oscar [Piastri] admitted that he couldn’t really hang onto Lando in the race and he’s still got a lot to learn, but he’s feisty and good competition and a good foil for Lando.

“But Lando does not want to be outqualified.”

As Hill suggests, Norris does appear to be feeling the pressure at key moments during qualifying.

Oscar Piastri has out-qualified his teammate on eight out of 15 occasions since Spa this year despite being slower than his teammate when it comes to his race pace.

The young Brit is clearly extremely talented and has the ability to win races within himself, but needs a perfect weekend and a bit of luck.