Lando Norris admits what Oscar Piastri ‘reminded’ McLaren driver how to do in F1

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Lando Norris has now admitted what Oscar Piastri ‘reminded’ the McLaren driver how to do over their first season as teammates in Formula 1 in the Australian’s rookie year.

The Woking squad snared Piastri from the clutches of Alpine in July 2022 to race with Norris from 2023. He replaced compatriot Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren to break into Formula 1 as a prodigious talent. Yet, even as a rookie, the 22-year-old still managed to give Norris a lesson.

Piastri had spent 2022 on the sidelines at Alpine after sealing the Formula 3 title in 2020 and the Formula 2 crown in 2021. The Melbourne native found no room at the Enstone inn for a Formula 1 debut. So, Piastri left and would relish what Norris thinks was an ‘incredible’ year.

Piastri was the first F1 rookie since Hamilton to claim multiple Grand Prix podiums

McLaren saw Piastri put his potential front and centre on the F1 stage once they offered him their first major upgrades at the British GP. He finished in fourth yet could have taken P3 but for a late safety car period. It let Mercedes icon Lewis Hamilton come in for a cheap pit stop.

Piastri continued to impress with a P2 finish in the Sprint at the Belgian GP, as well, before a maiden podium arrived with third place at the Japanese GP. The Australian then became the first rookie since Hamilton in 2007 to claim multiple Grand Prix podiums with his P2 in Qatar.

The Qatar GP weekend even saw Piastri do what Norris is yet to achieve and win an F1 race of any kind with the Sprint victory. McLaren also saw Piastri finish his rookie season ninth in the drivers’ standings. Norris’ P6 finish further helped the Papaya squad to fourth as a team.

Piastri reminded Norris of how to ‘keep calm and be yourself’ in F1 at McLaren

Norris has now praised Piastri for producing an ‘incredible’ season as a rookie in Formula 1 with McLaren. The 24-year-old also admits his latest teammate reminded the Briton of how to keep calm and to be yourself. Piastri impressed Norris with how he handled the pressure.

“Oscar had an incredible season,” Norris detailed, via quotes by RacingNews365. “Keeping calm and being yourself, it’s good to be reminded of that. I think he’s been very, very good at dealing with pressure – better than I feel like I remember I was when I started.

“But I think that’s because everyone’s very different with all of this – dealing with pressure and remaining calm and chilled. I think that is something that I’ve gotten a lot better with over the years, I know how to deal with all of these things much better myself now.

“I have a lot of respect for Oscar in how he was able to stay so calm in a new environment, in Formula 1, on the big stage.”