Piastri Lacking Behind Norris Needs To 'Develop Experience' According To McLaren Team Principal

Sunday, 12 November 2023 at 03:00

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella explained why Oscar Piastri started losing pace on his teammate Lando Norris during a few recent races.

Oscar Piastri has been named the best rookie in Formula One since Max Verstappen due to his performances that exceeded the expectations of everybody in the F1 paddock.

The 22-year-old joined Lando Norris at the beginning of 2023 and started matching his pace almost instantly on multiple occasions.

The Australian even managed to beat his teammate to the significant milestone of winning a race when he won the Sprint race during the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix weekend.

However, Piastri dropped off a bit in a recent few races. The biggest reality check came when Norris overtook him during the Mexico City Grand Prix after starting ten positions behind him.

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On the other hand, it is still Piastri's first season in Formula One while Norris has been driving for the McLaren F1 team since 2019. As reported by racingnews365.com, Andrea Stella recently told the media:

“"I think we see a little bit less of that with Oscar for a couple of reasons. One is that in sprint events with Oscar, this was once again his first long run in a new track as a rookie [in Brazil]."”

Piastri flew out of the track in turn 12 during the Sao Paulo Qualifying, which put him in the tenth starting position on the grid. He later fell victim to a big collision at the start of the Grand Prix, which set him one lap back for the rest of the race.

Mclaren team principal does not seem to be too worried and says the rookie just need to develop experience.

“"And when you have so much tire degradation, it's always tricky to actually manage that. Also I think it's part of the race craft, part of the toolbox that you [need to] develop experience."”

Most of the tracks are completely new to the Australian driver, and that puts him at a disadvantage. It will be interesting to see Piastri compared to other drivers during next week's race in Las Vegas which is new to everybody.