In about one and a half years in F1, Oscar Piastri has improved by leaps and bounds. While Lando Norris is still slightly ahead of the curve at the moment, Piastri is steadily becoming Norris’ biggest threat — according to the experts at The Race. In fact, Edd Straw even believes that soon the Briton can be upstaged by his teammate and the friction between them can grow.
On the latest episode of The Race F1 podcast, Straw and his colleagues discussed the potential rivalry between the McLaren duo. Piastri has closed the gap to his more experienced teammate, as was evident in the last three races. In fact, according to Glenn Freeman, the young Australian is Norris’ biggest future challenge.
Freeman said, “Well, he’d react the same as anyone else would, which is not well. But I do think Lando is aware that Piastri will keep getting better.” He also referred to how Norris has been trying to assert himself as the leader of the team.
However, the Hungarian GP team orders’ fiasco shows that things are quite even between him and Piastri. “So Lando knows that there’s a bigger challenge coming from Piastri in the future.”, Freeman added.
Having won his maiden Grand Prix in his sophomore season, Piastri knows he has taken a step forward. The Aussie did not feel flustered with Norris’ Hungarian GP shenanigans. Still, he would aim to beat the Briton next year. In such a case, McLaren would want to maintain the harmony between their drivers, by following Nico Rosberg’s advice.
Rosberg advises McLaren boss on how to manage Norris and Piastri’s dynamic
Rosberg knows what can transpire when there are two extremely competitive drivers at a team. His rivalry with Lewis Hamilton got so intense, that the German retired right after winning his maiden championship in 2016. The Woking outfit might experience a similar intra-team battle, now that they are fighting for wins and the championship.
That is why, the 2016 champion recommended Mclaren boss — Andrea Stella to manage their drivers better with more control, unlike Hungary. After the race, Rosberg said, “I strongly recommend that you guys, in managing this intra-team battle between the two drivers, need to be extremely clear and firm.”
“That would be my strong recommendation going forward, very clear, strong instructions from the pit wall to the drivers. Otherwise, you end up in a whole bunch of difficulties between the drivers and I talk from experience.”, Rosberg added.
While both drivers are future champions, they are quite young and can make impulsive decisions that are not necessarily in the team’s favor. So, McLaren needs to take control of the situation and not let the drivers call the shots.
