Lando Norris has exceeded McLaren staff’s expectations in one area that could give him an edge over Oscar Piastri

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McLaren driver Lando Norris will be hoping he can stand on the top step of the podium for the first time in his career at the British Grand Prix this weekend.

Lando Norris has his own grandstand at Silverstone and will be relying on that support to help him in his battle with McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri.

Piastri leads Norris by 15 points in the drivers’ championship, but neither driver is dominating the other at this stage of the campaign.

The Australian won four of the first six races but has only stood on the top step of the podium once since then.

Norris has had issues in qualifying that have held him back, but when he’s hooked up a complete race weekend like he did in Austria, he’s the quicker driver.

The British Grand Prix has been a happy hunting ground for Norris, finishing on the podium twice already at Silverstone, including last season when he beat a very impressive Piastri.

He will hope that one of the skills he demonstrated last time out in Austria will help him once again, as he even took some staff at McLaren by surprise during one of his stints during the race.

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McLaren staff couldn’t believe Lando Norris’ pace on the hard tyres at the Austrian Grand Prix

Journalist Diego Mejia was speaking on the Pit Pass Analysis Podcast after the race at the Red Bull Ring.

Norris had a tough battle with Piastri during the opening stages of the race, before creating a buffer during his middle stint that meant he was never in danger of losing out to Piastri in the closing stages.

Explaining how Norris went on to win the race, Mejia said: “I think it’s very difficult to know, but in hindsight, he should have kept the pressure on.

“I don’t know how much closer he would have come out of the pits had he pitted a lap later, because Lando was really on it on the hard tyres.

“From what I heard from Andrea Stella after the race, Lando’s pace in that second stint was probably much better than the team had anticipated, and that’s where he most likely built the buffer that he was able to maintain for the rest of the race.

“At some point it got close to the DRS range, but thankfully, the traffic on his side played in favour [of him], it played sometimes against him, sometimes in his favour, but overall, he was able to manage it in such a way that he was able to keep Oscar out of his DRS range.”

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David Coulthard explains Lando Norris’ advantage over Oscar Piastri this season

Norris has been outqualified by Piastri on eight occasions, including Sprint events this season.

Considering last year he only lost out four times out of 24 Grand Prix qualifying sessions, it’s been a real shift in the balance of power between the two drivers.

However, David Coulthard still thinks Norris has the better one-lap pace compared to his teammate.

The trouble Norris is currently having is putting together a lap without any mistakes during Q3.

In Monaco and Austria, he showed exactly what he can do when he gets everything right; however, his performances in Saudi Arabia and Canada show what can happen when he gets things wrong.

Piastri has improved his tyre management this season, but he’s still far less experienced than Norris in this area.

The British driver needs to take advantage of this, but making sure he’s maximising his performances in qualifying is the most important step he needs to take.