Lando Norris offered vital advice as Oscar Piastri pressure mounts

Lando Norris has been offered vital advice by former Haas F1 team boss Guenther Steiner, who believes the Briton must "stay calm" to end his run of driver errors.

Norris has made several mistakes across the opening five rounds of the season, the most recent of which saw him crash on his first hot lap in the final part of qualifying in Saudi Arabia. 

It caused him to start in 10th, whilst team-mate Oscar Piastri started from second but managed to claim victory at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit. 

The mistakes being made by Norris have cost the McLaren driver significant points, allowing Piastri to build a 10-point advantage in the F1 drivers' title. 

Steiner has backed Norris to end his errors, although only when the pressure has finally been removed from his shoulders.

"In the race, he showed what he's able to do driving a car," Steiner told the Red Flags podcast. "He's very good, but he makes these mistakes. And I think he knows himself. 

"He was his biggest critic himself, saying that he messed it up. I think it's evident now, last year, he had the problems with the starts a few times, where it was getting to him that he couldn't start properly. 

"Now, he's doing this, but I don't know, at some stage, I think he will do better when he has got the pressure away, or maybe when he's told get in line. Because then the pressure is away."

Norris message

Whilst Norris has continued to make mistakes in most events this year, Piastri has been flawless since spinning in the Australian Grand Prix. 

The championship leader is on a run of four consecutive podiums, with three wins having been claimed in that period. 

To beat Piastri, Norris must put an end to his consistent mistakes, something Steiner has advice on how to do.

When asked what he would tell Norris if he was McLaren's team boss, Steiner insisted: "Just to stay calm. I said a few times, it's the only thing you can do.

"Otherwise, you cannot advise him how to drive, because he can drive. This has nothing to do with driving. This has just to do with controlling your nerves, your focus. When you go out in Q3 and he's just not wanting to overdo it.

"I guess now he can see that Oscar is very fast as well. He can pull it off, and just tries to, because it's so close between the two of them, and at the moment, he makes more mistakes than Oscar."