07 April 2023 , 15:30
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Lando Norris believes Oscar Piastri is pushing him harder than Daniel Ricciardo ever did during their time as McLaren team-mates.
Ricciardo had a huge reputation when he swapped Renault for their Formula 1 rivals and was expected, along with promising youngster Norris, to push McLaren to new heights. But he struggled to adapt and was regularly outshone by his much younger team-mate.
Now, Norris is the senior driver at the team despite only being 23 years old. The Brit is partnered by another Aussie, in the form of Piastri who also came into the McLaren team with a big reputation – but for different reasons.
A stellar career in the junior formulae was followed by a year out of racing last year as there was no room for him on the F1 grid. He decided to leave Alpine for McLaren – sparking the biggest story of F1 silly season when his former employer tried, and failed, to promote him to a race seat.
The start of the 2023 season has been tough for everyone at McLaren. Their car is not competitive as expected after delays in the design and construction process, while their efforts have also been hampered by reliability issues in Bahrain and a dollop of bad luck in Jeddah.
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But they secured their first points last time out at the Australian Grand Prix. Both drivers avoided several crashes which disrupted the Melbourne race, with Norris finishing sixth and Piastri eighth in front of his home crowd.
Daniel Ricciardo is a Red Bull reserve for the 2023 F1 season (Seth Wenig/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Speaking to Channel 4 about his new team-mate, Norris suggested that he is being pushed harder by Piastri than Ricciardo ever did. "He's doing a very good job, honestly. I feel so weird talking like I'm the older guy, the more experienced one!" he said.
"But he's doing a very good job, handling the pressure extremely well I would say, I think that is something that is very strong that I've seen in him. He's calm, he's controlled and he's quick, so I feel like he's got a lot of what you need.
"He's pushing me more than what I've had the last few years, which is a good thing for us as a team as well. So, a good job, in the points today and not an easy weekend. He went up from sixteenth to eighth, so a good day for him too."