Brown pinpoints Piastri deficiency compared to Norris

Zak Brown has said that Oscar Piastri lacks consistency in F1 due to his lack of experience, but believes the Australian is a match for team-mate Lando Norris.

The McLaren Racing CEO oversaw the latter taking his first grand prix victory at the Miami Grand Prix, having twice come close in 2021 after making his F1 debut in 2019.

Whilst Piastri beat Norris for a first win - in the Qatar sprint last season - Brown feels the 23-year-old has a little way to go before he is able to match his more experienced team-mate week-in-week-out.

"So if I look at Lando's [Norris] first year and a half, Oscar [Piastri] has kind of matched that," he told Tom Clarkson on the Beyond the Grid Podcast.

"So where Lando's really strong, he rarely makes a mistake, his race management is awesome. And what you can see in Oscar, is he can do everything Lando can, and then sometimes he doesn't.

"But that's more, I think, inexperience - the lack of consistency, and these tyres are pretty hard to manage. So I think he's just going to get better and better and better."

Piastri just needs experience

Piastri was highly touted ahead of his F1 debut at the start of the 2023 season. Having been part of Alpine's junior programme, he switched to McLaren when an F1 seat with the French team failed to materialise in his and manager Mark Webber's desired timeframe, leading to the infamous 'Piasco' saga.

After joining the Woking-based team, the 23-year-old impressed, proving he could match Norris when given the opportunity, despite it being his first season at the top level.

Norris has long been regarded as a 'winner in waiting' in F1 and is also considered a championship-calibre driver by Brown, who feels Piastri can operate on the same level, something the 52-year-old thinks the Australian will start doing more consistently.

"I think Lando is as good as anyone in Formula 1," he contended. "And I think Oscar is the match for Lando. He's not yet - what we see now is he can be, but he has some inconsistencies. Tyre management, but these things just come with experience.

"And that's why I'm so excited about our driver lineup. I think we've got two of the best drivers in Formula 1."