Newly crowned world champion Lando Norris has offered glowing praise for Oscar Piastri, admitting the Australian is the toughest teammate he has encountered in Formula 1.
During his seven-year career at McLaren, Norris has teamed up with Carlos Sainz and Australian drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Piastri.
Reflecting on the recent high-stakes season, the Brit revealed that Piastri’s relentless pace forced him to “dig deeper” to fight more than any of his previous teammates and that the young star even “showed him up” a couple of times.
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“I’m lucky, the team have given me an incredible car that’s made my life very easy at times,” said Norris.
Of all his McLaren teammates, Lando Norris believes Oscar Piastri is the best driver. Â Getty
“At times, we’ve still struggled, and even I’ve struggled against Oscar, and Oscar’s done an incredible job.
“I’m glad I’ve had Oscar the last three years, because even though he’s still a lot newer to it than me…he showed me up many times.
“I’ve managed to learn a lot from him, and I wouldn’t be the driver I am today without that.
“Of course, also with my other teammates, with Carlos, with Daniel, the last few years. But he’s (Piastri) made me have to dig even deeper than I ever have before.
Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris drove for McLaren together. Â Supplied
“Because by the midpoint of the season, he was performing better than I was, and doing a better job consistently. And then after Zandvoort, it was pretty tough.
“But, we had a good break, and I managed to do everything I needed to.”
Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Norris noted that despite Piastri’s relative lack of experience compared to his own seven seasons in the sport, the Australian’s quick consistency was a wake-up call.
Many in the paddock believe that Piastri is “world championship material” with most believing it will only be a matter of time until the Australian finds himself lifting the drivers’ championship trophy.
“That’s not just driving better on track,” Norris explained.
“There’s a lot of other things that go on in the background that I had to do personally to make myself better, to make myself more resilient, in all the cases, to get more out of myself, whether that’s the delta lap time and the little things that no one’s going to know for years.”
Norris and Piastri had a title fight until Abu Dhabi. Â Getty
“Two points, and so easily, one other thing that I didn’t do quite well enough, or whatever, could have changed all of today, and I wouldn’t be smiling.
“More than anything, I want to enjoy the moment, but also give a congrats to Oscar, and to Max (Verstappen) for making us stress like hell the last few months.”
With both drivers locked into long-term contracts at McLaren, the reality is that Norris will need to prepare to see Piastri fight tooth and nail to snatch the championship back from his hands.
“I have to give a congrats to Oscar, because he’s driven incredibly and at some point, he’s going to get the better of me.”
“I learned a lot. I’ve enjoyed it a lot, and sadly, I’ve got a lot more seasons with him in the future, so I look forward to those tough moments as well.”