Piastri Enjoyed 2023 Without Pressure And Now He Has To Deliver

Monday, 15 January 2024 at 15:00

Oscar Piastri exceeded everybody's expectations in 2023, but now, as he has one year of experience under his belt, his team will start expecting even more.

The McLaren 2023 rookie driver Oscar Piastri joined the team to race alongside much more experienced Lando Norris, who has been in F1 already for five years.

Norris was already considered one of the most talented drivers with immense potential, and with the experience gap to the Australian, it was expected he should be the dominant driver in 2023 inside the McLaren team.

Being a rookie in Formula One is one of the most challenging jobs. However, the positive side is rookies can't really "lose" in their first season because nobody expects them to match their teammates, and if they do, that's amazing.

Read also

Piastri Reveals Secret Behind His Unwavering Calmness

On the other hand, Oscar Piastri suggested he always felt the pressure of the comparison to his 24-year-old teammate throughout the season. He told Autosport:

"I was still always going to be compared to Lando, whether we were fighting for last and second last or first and second. So, those comparisons were always still going to be there."

The 22-year-old surprised his team very positively when he matched Norris's qualifying pace on multiple occasions. Even though he finished 108 behind his teammate, McLaren was more than satisfied with his performance.

"But maybe in terms of outright results, maybe there wasn’t quite the pressure to achieve big points or podiums or whatever straight away. But that comparison was still there."

The Papaya team and everybody around are observing Piastri's progress very closely as he showed big promise as a driver. McLaren has him secured for now, but rival teams might be interested in him in the future.

The 2024 season will be crucial for the Australian driver as he will not only have to prove his performances in 2023 were not a coincidence, but he will also have to show improvement in direct comparison with his teammate.