Piastri reveals key Norris lesson during rookie F1 season

Oscar Piastri has revealed a key factor that he learned while racing alongside Lando Norris at McLaren last year.

Piastri enjoyed a successful maiden Formula 1 campaign, scoring two podiums while also securing the sprint pole position and race win in Qatar.

The Australian was out-paced by Norris over the course of the season, however Piastri's efforts were enough to see him extended until 2026.

Piastri entered the season with a strong reputation following a success-filled junior campaign.

However the 22-year-old was forced to adapt to life in F1, a step up from anything he had competed in before.

With a more experienced team-mate in Norris alongside him, Piastri asserted that the Briton's knowledge of the team was a benefit to his own integration.

“It is always a good learning experience to see how different people drive,” Piastri said. “It has been nice getting to know Lando this year, on and off track.

“I have always had different teammates throughout my career, and it is always interesting to see how they drive and attack the same car from different angles.

“Seeing how Lando drives the car, interacts with the team, and pushes them to be better has all been a good experience for me, and I feel like I have learned from it.

“There are always things you can learn from your teammates. No driver will ever drive completely the same way as another.

“How he interacts with the team has been really insightful for me to learn from.”

New challenges

Piastri was forced to brush off some racing rust as he sat on the sidelines in 2022 as a reserve driver for Alpine.

Having made the jump to a full-time F1 drive with McLaren, Piastri stated that there were a number of matters he had to get used to, which differed greatly from his experiences in junior categories.

“I certainly learned a lot in my first season right across the board, both on and off track,” he said. “On track, it was an exciting new challenge for me to race in a new championship with a new team against a lot of new people.

“On track, the biggest challenge and the biggest lesson was learning what new drivers are like to race against, and what these new circuits are like.

“Off track, it is the added media attention and the fan engagement, which is very different from the junior categories – it’s been exciting. It was challenging at times, but having that support is very exciting.

“The media is much greater than what I have experienced before. As is the entire schedule. 2023 was, by far, the busiest year of my life.

“Learning to deal with being on the road for so long has been an interesting challenge. Learning lots of new countries and new circuits has been fun. I gained lots of new skills.”