Oscar Piastri has always lauded his teammate Lando Norris for being the benchmark for his performances. The Australian also praised the Briton in the recent FIA Prize Giving Ceremony. During the ceremony, Piastri picked up the Rookie of the Year award.
After winning the award, Piastri said in an exclusive interview with F1, “In F1 there’s only your teammate that you can directly compare to, and Lando [Norris] has been a very good benchmark. So, in some ways, at the start anyway, seeing how I fared was a bit of a measuring stick for myself.”
Your 2023 FIA Rookie of the Year! @OscarPiastri pic.twitter.com/yKJi5l1zOZ
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) December 9, 2023
Admittedly, Piastri could have never raced for McLaren in the first place if his relationship with Alpine had remained as good as it was before. Had there been no lapse from Alpine’s higher officials, the Australian driver might not have had the opportunity to race for the team from Woking and drive alongside Norris.
Alpine made the mistake of announcing Piastri as their driver without consulting with the 22-year-old. The French team did it immediately after Fernando Alonso decided to switch to Aston Martin in 2023. After a long struggle, McLaren finally got hold of Piastri, who now kept all of the dark past behind to shine on the global stage yet again.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have a strong relationship
2023 was the first season of the partnership between Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. Even though Norris is yet to form a similar bond with Piastri as he had with Carlos Sainz or Daniel Ricciardo, the duo still got along well.
Both drivers often share good feedback about each other. Speaking about the duo, McLaren boss Andrea Stella once said during a podcast that both drivers usually share similar input in terms of car development back in the factory and in the simulation.
How it started. How it went. pic.twitter.com/ww5tgsuStU
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) December 5, 2023
Norris too shared his thoughts about having Piastri as his teammate. Norris stated that his younger teammate helps him push boundaries and be a better driver. Hence, McLaren seem to be in a good place heading into the 2024 season.
