F1 News: McLaren CEO Sends Sly Dig To Lando Norris' Former Teammates

McLaren CEO Zak Brown reveals Lando Norris is pushed by his new teammate Oscar Piastri.

In a recent interview, McLaren CEO Zak Brown praised Lando Norris' performance in the 2023 F1 season, attributing part of his success to the pressure from teammate Oscar Piastri, sending a sly jab to the Belgian-British driver's previous teammates Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo. 

Key Takeaways:

• Norris' Strong Season: Lando Norris had one of his best seasons in F1, finishing ahead of his teammate Oscar Piastri, despite the latter winning a sprint race in Qatar.
• Brown's Insight: Zak Brown believes that Norris excelled in part due to the competitive pressure from Piastri, contrasting this with the lesser challenge from Sainz and Ricciardo in previous years.
• Team Synergy: Both Norris and Piastri share a similar feel for the car, aiding in the team's direction and engineering development. Brown highlights this synergy as a significant factor in their performance.

McLaren's 2023 F1 season saw a notable performance from Lando Norris, who arguably had his best season so far, finishing ahead of his rookie teammate Oscar Piastri and celebrating on the podium seven times. Piastri's contribution to the team was significant, including a sprint race win in Qatar. 

Zak Brown, McLaren's CEO, attributes Norris' success to the competitive environment created by Piastri. In an interview with Speedcafe.com, Brown remarked:

"Lando was kind of unchallenged for the most part over the last couple of years. Even though drivers always drive to the best of their ability, we know if you have a teammate who's pushing you, you just get a little bit more without even necessarily trying. It just happens.

"So I think in addition to just driving faster and harder, I think they quite complement each other. When you listen to them in the debriefs, they kind of say the same stuff. So that's also helped the engineers and the designers pick a direction."

Prior to racing alongside Piastri, Norris was joined by Carlos Sainz between 2019 and 2020 before having Daniel Ricciardo as his teammate from 2021 and 2022.

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