Piastri Exactly What Norris Needed To Up His Game According To Brundle

Thursday, 14 December 2023 at 19:00

Sky Sports Co-commentator Martin Brundle believes Lando Norris needed a strong teammate like Oscar Piastri, who would push him to elevate his performances.

Lando Norris was probably used to being better than his teammate Daniel Ricciardo, who struggled with his pace and confidence while he was driving in McLaren.

Norris was so far ahead as a benchmark that the Papaya team decided to end Ricciardo's contract earlier and replace him with a different driver.

The replacement driver was a rookie to Formula One, Oscar Piastri. While not much was expected from the driver in his first season, he exceeded everybody's expectations with his "exceptional" performances.

Lando Norris was considered one of the best drivers on the grid with the greatest potential, but the Australian driver managed to match his pace and beat him on multiple occasions.

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This in return, pushed Norris to improve even more, as the former F1 driver Martin Brundle suggested while speaking as part of Sky F1’s end-of-season review:

“"Oscar Piastri has really sharpened Lando Norris up. Now he has to get on with it a little bit because Piastri has turned up, as a rookie, delivering the high speeds through the really challenging corners, delivering some amazing results."”

Piastri made a few mistakes here and there and also wasn't prioritized by his team in terms of a better strategy, so he finished the season 108 points behind his teammate.

Nevertheless, the 22-year-old was named Rookie of the Year and almost broke Lewis Hamilton's record for the most points scored in a rookie season.

On the other hand, Lando Norris collected seven podiums and six second-place finishes, which is an incredible result for the Papaya team, and Brudle believes he has been outstanding in the second part of the season thanks to being pushed by his teammate.

“"Made some rookie errors as well, but I think that’s really driven both drivers on and probably just what Lando needed because I think in the second half of the season, Lando Norris has been outstanding."”