The departure of Daniel Ricciardo from Formula 1 broke a few racing hearts. The Australian had a difficult time at the English racing team McLaren because of the equipment, but also because teammate Lando Norris simply put in better performances. Zak Brown, McLaren CEO, praised the young Norris.
Brown thinks Norris is getting better and better. "He puts together some amazing qualifying laps, I don’t think he probably gets enough credit,” he tells Motorsportweek.com. "[Lando] makes very few mistakes, he rarely makes a big mistake. If I look at where he started versus now, he’s got a very high level of confidence, but not arrogance," says the American.
The quality of the equipment and the team environment obviously also play a big part in the driver's performance, but Brown is particularly appreciative of how Norris can deal with all these factors. “He’s definitely one with the team and the racing car. He puts together unbelievable qualifying laps, and his racecraft, if I look at season one to now, his race craft is exponentially better.”
Oscar Piastri
The English driver will be joined by a new teammate next season, and it is another Australian. Brown calls rookie Oscar Piastri a "sensational racing driver", and all but Norris has to start paying attention because of his new teammate's talent. “If you look at [Oscar’s] career to date he’s won a lot of championships in his first year, which always tells you a driver is special."