Lando Norris enters his 5th year in Formula 1 and with McLaren in 2023. The Briton has been loyal to his team since his F1 debut and has been associated with the Papaya team for more than a decade.
For the first time in his career, Norris will be the most experienced driver in his team. He pairs up with rookie Oscar Piastri for 2023. And pundits claim this is added pressure on the 23-year-old.
While driving with a rookie would be a challenging task, the McLaren driver claims he is not burdened by the pressure. He claims his rookie teammate too can propel the team.
Lando Norris on being the experienced driver at McLaren
Lando Norris credits his former teammates Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo for teaching an important lesson. That being a driver’s role is not just to perform in races but also to aid the future development of the car.
He said, “I don’t think much has changed. Everyone’s saying I need to rise to the challenge. But the job I was doing before was already a good job.”
And being the more experienced driver he needs to continue focusing on doing the same going ahead. He added, “I am a more experienced drier so there is a bit more responsibility on myself to lead the team.”
The driver with over 84 race starts has managed to punch above his weight. He comfortably out-qualified the more experienced Daniel Ricciardo in 2021 and 2022.
Oscar Piastri brings a different experience to McLaren
Oscar Piastri will join Lando Norris this year at McLaren. The Aussie has quite a reputation becoming only the 5th driver to have won F3 and F2 titles in consecutive seasons.
He was contracted with Alpine’s academy. However, the youngster rejected an offer from the French team and moved to McLaren. This puts another unwanted spotlight on McLaren who will be closely monitored this season.
Norris claims working with a debutant will be difficult. But even then the team have decided to give the Aussie an equal chance. He said, “The number one and number two driver stuff is all nonsense.”
No regrets. Driving for McLaren was a rare opportunity @OscarPiastri could not turn down. 👊🧡#DriveToSurvive @NetflixUK @F1 pic.twitter.com/mMmxY8g4KZ
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) February 24, 2023
Norris believes despite his lack of performance Piastri brings a lot in the team. He added, “There are so many things that Oscar brings that I cant. He has worked with Alpine, with different people and that’s an experience I don’t have.”
So far the youngster has done well. In only his second F1 race, Piastri managed to make it to Q3 in Qualifying. However, reliability and lack of pace have prevented the McLaren drivers from scoring their first points of the season.
