Why Oscar Piastri challenge will make Lando Norris better, McLaren, Fernando Alonso brands McLaren overconfident, Constructors’ Championship, latest, updates،
McLaren boss Andrea Stella believes Lando Norris’s ‘unease’ at being challenged by Oscar Piastri will only push him to be even better.
Piastri has scored podiums in his last two races and even won the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, further highlighting his enormous potential.
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As for Norris, he finished one place behind the Australian rookie in Qatar but felt he could have done better.
Piastri’s rapid improvement in form has many people wondering just how worried Norris is for his teammate and what that could mean for the future, especially if they continue to jostle for podiums.
But Stella believes Norris will view the duel between the two McLarens as “positive” and felt it was something the Briton needed to take his driving to the next level.
“Lando himself knows that Oscar is a unique talent, you don’t see this kind of talent in Formula 1 every day,” Stella said. Motorsport.com.
“So he’s an absolute reference, even though he’s a rookie, and sometimes Lando knows he’ll set the bar very high.
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“But if you are a champion like Lando, you will have to take this from a positive point of view because it gives you so much information to continue to improve.
“There is no champion in the world in any sport who wins everything, or as a driver is faster in every corner, faster in every lap and faster in every session.
“So for me, Lando sees it as a little bit of discomfort, but it’s the discomfort that you need to become the best in a certain way.
“It’s a curse and a blessing to be a champion.”
Norris leads Piastri by just over 50 points this season and will look to increase that margin at the US GP in Texas this weekend.
ALONSO MARKS MCLAREN ‘TOO CONFIDENT’ AMID MANUFACTURERS’ CHAMPIONSHIP BATTLE
Despite closing the gap to just 11 points, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso believes McLaren is “overconfident” in its hopes of securing fourth place in the Constructors’ Championship.
Aston Martin sits in fourth place thanks to an impressive first half of the season as Alonso claimed six podiums in the first 10 races and finished no lower than seventh.
As for his teammate Lance Stroll, he scored points in six of the first 10 races.
But since the Hungarian Grand Prix, the duo has not enjoyed the same success as Alonso has only finished on the podium once while Stroll has scored points twice in seven races.
Meanwhile, McLaren have climbed the standings after a horrible start to the season thanks to Lando Norris taking five podiums in his last eight while Oscar Piastri continues to improve with each race.
The success of Norris and Piastri gave McLaren a chance to finish at the top of the Constructors’ Championship pack with five races remaining.
Alonso admitted McLaren may have the wind in their sails at the moment, but he believes the roller coaster nature of the season could easily catch up with them.
“Obviously they (McLaren) have the momentum, that’s for sure,” Alonso said. RacingNews365.com.
“And they were pretty quick. But every weekend we see ups and downs for everyone.
“They were very strong before the August holidays in Austria, at Silverstone. I think they were both close to being on the podium at Silverstone.
“In Zandvoort, we were on the podium and they struggled a bit.
“So it’s good if they are overconfident and let’s see if we can beat them in Abu Dhabi.”
