Piastri looks forward to working with Norris: "He's a very strong teammate"

Oscar Piastri believes he can build a positive working relationship with Lando Norris to help McLaren grow in Formula 1. From the 2023 season, the two young talents will join forces after the British racing stable said an early farewell to Daniel Ricciardo.

Although Norris is only a year and a half older than his new teammate, he is considered the more experienced driver within the team from this year onwards. The 23-year-old Briton is preparing for his fifth season in F1, while generation-mate Piastri is making his long-awaited debut. "I think our junior careers have been quite similar. He’s obviously proven as well in F1 that he’s a very capable driver and a strong driver as well," said Piastri at the In the Fast Lane podcast.

He continued: "I’m looking forward to being able to show what I have, but also there’s undoubtedly going to be things to learn along the way, and I think Lando’s a very strong team mate to be able to learn from. I think it’ll be a good working relationship." The former Alpine junior hopes that together they can help the team bridge the gap to the top.

After spending a year on Alpine's reserve bench, Piastri will make his Grand Prix debut in F1 next season. Alpine and McLaren fought it out over his contract, with the Woking-based racing stable coming out on top. The Australian has opted for starting number 81, the same number he drove with in his karting days.

McLaren still finished third in the constructors' standings behind Mercedes and Red Bull Racing in 2020, only to drop to fourth behind Ferrari in 2021. In 2022, the British racing stable fell further to fifth place after Alpine came out on top in the duel between them.