Timo Glock thinks Lando Norris now has an ‘issue’ at McLaren

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Timo Glock thinks Lando Norris now has an ‘issue’ at McLaren as Oscar Piastri can put the British driver under ‘a bit of pressure’ unlike Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo did.

Norris made lightwork of his battle with Ricciardo through the Australian’s two seasons with McLaren in 2021 and 2022. The 34-year-old had joined the Woking-based team as a seven-time Grand Prix winner. Yet he struggled to get to grips with the team’s car on corner entry.

McLaren ultimately paid Ricciardo off to leave the team a year before his contract was set to expire. They replaced him with compatriot Piastri, who has since shown promise throughout his rookie Formula 1 campaign. The 22-year-old is even proving he is able to threaten Norris.

Piastri had to bide his time at first to show what he can offer in F1 as the Melbourne native settled in at McLaren. He also made his Formula 1 debut in Bahrain after spending a year on the sidelines. The 2020 Formula 3 champion had no drive after winning the F2 title in 2021.

McLaren giving Norris their upgrades first after delivering a slow car to start the season also meant Piastri’s work flew under the radar. Yet he flew up the grid once Piastri had a car that could demonstrate his efforts. And he has continued to be a true rival for Norris ever since.

Piastri can apply pressure on Norris, unlike Ricciardo

Piastri qualified third for the British GP and was just 0.131 seconds behind Norris in second with McLaren’s upgraded car. He even challenged Red Bull’s record-setter, Max Verstappen, for second in the opening stages. The safety car intervention denied Piastri a podium finish.

Positive results have continued to come with Piastri since receiving McLaren’s upgrades with fifth place in Hungary. He also qualified second for the Sprint race at the Belgian GP and held on to the result. While last week’s Italian GP saw Piastri outqualify Norris for the third time.

Piastri continued to fend off Norris through the early exchanges, as well, until McLaren gave the Briton an earlier pit stop. The stop allowed Norris to undercut his teammate before they made contact going through the first chicane when Piastri emerged from the pits on Lap 24.

Norris had already been on his radio asking McLaren to get Piastri to ‘pick up the pace’, too. The 23-year-old even also had an intense exchange with his mechanic over the radio during the Dutch GP, calling him ‘stupid’ after not being told to pit for wet tyres in the early stages.

Glock predicts a ‘restless’ situation to develop at McLaren

Former Toyota and Marussia F1 driver, Glock, believes Norris’ tetchy radio messages are a sign of the pressure from his inter-McLaren fight with Piastri. He also expects things to get ‘more restless’ as Piastri continues to gain the momentum that Ricciardo could never find.

Glock wrote in a column for Sky Germany: “With Lando Norris, I’ve noticed in several races that he is annoyed on the radio or comes across as annoyed.

“You never know in the heat of the moment whether he means it. But it’s an issue because he now has a teammate who puts a bit of pressure on him and drives at his level.

“I’m excited to see how this develops because Oscar Piastri is getting closer and wants his chances, too. I can understand that he is showing his displeasure by being strategically placed behind Norris. You can wait for things to get a little more restless at McLaren.”