Oscar Piastri in his rookie season has performed beyond his expectations. The Australian driver cementing first row start for Sunday is a testament to that. However, when there are two lions in a cage, things are meant to go ugly, as Harry Benjamin while speaking on BBC’s Chequered flag podcast claimed that the two are so levelled that McLaren could end up dealing with an identical ghost that appeared 13 yeas ago.
In 2010, Jenson Button joined McLaren to partner with his compatriot Lewis Hamilton. Two world champions with a team with rich heritage, what could have gone wrong? Certainly everything. The competition between the two exceeded beyond repair.
And now, with Piastri, who is not even 17 races old is challenging the hegemon Lando Norris. And for the BBC’s F1 panel in Japan, it’s hinting towards the times of a known past.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris could soon turn ugly
While talking about Piastri giving a better result than Norris in Japan, the Chequered Flag speakers admitted that Norris ‘appears’ annoyed by his younger teammate’s performance. And it could soon turn into something what Hamilton and Button faced during their three years together.
“I think he’s gonna get Norris run for his money. And it could well be some Hamilton and Button style of return for McLaren. Where they have two drivers very levelled,” said Benjamin.
Benjamin further adds that it could trigger Norris, who would be seeing McLaren as ‘his team’, and suddenly there is this younger driver who is heavily backed and was stolen from Alpine. But before all of that, Norris certainly has Sunday race to silence Piastri team against him.
Lando Norris can downshift his teammate
For Sunday, both drivers have equal machinery. Though Norris is starting for one row behind, it’s certainly on driver’s merit when it comes to McLaren team battle.
“I LOVE our driver lineup” ♥
Zak Brown with plenty of praise for Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri 👏 pic.twitter.com/92bJQ1GEBj
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) September 22, 2023
And in that Norris, who has drove in Suzuka twice before could beat Piastri. However, the Aussie race driver has proved that he isn’t someone who can be tamed easliy and tries to extract every inch of car’s calibre.
But while, the team battle is apossibility, McLaren also needs to ensure that they fetch maximum points in contrast to their rivals Ferrari and Mercedes. On the other hand, Red Bull seems untouchable, yet again in this season, in Japan.
