F1 News: Lando Norris Not Enjoying New Piastri Challenge

Oscar Piastri's Belgian Grand Prix qualifying pace should ring alarm bells for Lando Norris.

The upgrades on McLaren's MCL60 F1 car have significantly helped drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris to close the gap in the first half of the 2023 season of Formula 1 despite a slow start to the year. However, Oscar Piastri's 'rookie errors' have created a bit of a gap between him and his teammate in the front but, racing driver and TV presenter Naomi Schiff explains that the Australian driver isn't far behind, causing Lando Norris to look over his shoulder. 

If you notice in the British and Hungarian Grands Prix, a few strategy errors caused Piastri to stay away from the podium. But during the Belgian Grand Prix, Piastri was much faster in qualifying and even secured second place in the sprint race.

Schiff believes that there are enough reasons for Norris to be sweating but ultimately, the pressure would push him to become a better driver. She said to Sky F1:

"I have to be honest, I don't think there is a way that he can really be enjoying it. 

"I do think it is a positive for him to have a team-mate in the garage next to him that's quick, that's bringing in valuable data to move the whole team forward.

"But of course as a driver, the number one person - as much as they call this a team sport - the number one person you want to beat is your team-mate.

"Obviously qualifying on Friday [in Belgium] was slightly different for Lando, he went off at Turn 14 and caused some damage to his underfloor and therefore he lost the ultimate performance in the car.

"However, Oscar was able to out-pace him in qualifying fair and square. So that's going to be putting some pressure on him. But I think it's positive pressure.

"As much as he might not like it, it'll be good for him. It'll be pushing him to pay more attention to detail. And ultimately when you've got a driver next to you that's pushing you, you become a better driver yourself."