Piastri: Norris a very strong teammate to learn from

McLaren will be fielding an exciting driver lineup in 2023, with the young but proven Lando Norris embarking on his fifth season with the team, and will be joined by rookie Oscar Piastri, the former Alpine young driver McLaren scooped from Enstone after a controversial legal fight in 2022.

Piastri will be under the spotlight in 2023 and will be under pressure to prove his worth at Woking after all the trouble the team went through to secure his services, sacking Daniel Ricciardo in the process, one year before the Honey Badger's contract expiry.

Speaking in an interview during The Fast Lane podcast, Piastri commented on his relationship with Norris, and how he expects their relationship to pan out in the future.

"I don’t know Lando that well," Piastri said. "I’ve spoken to him a couple of times very briefly and we’ve got a few mutual friends in common. But yes, I’m looking forward to getting to know him, both personally and professionally.

"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.

"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 teammate to be able to learn from. I think it’ll be a good working relationship," Piastri explained.

Piastri is confident he will get along well with Norris; he added: "We’re both quite similar in age, we’ve got a few friends in common, like I said, so I’m confident that we’ll be able to work well together and hopefully bring the whole team more towards the front of the grid – that’s the aim."

McLaren, winning races and fighting for Championships, is a distant memory their most recent Drivers' Title being Lewis Hamilton's back in 2008, and Piastri in relishing the challenge of being part of the effort to get the squad winning again.

He said: "A lot of McLaren’s history and quite a lot of their winning and championships was either when I was very young or wasn’t born at all, so of course that’s something I want to – hopefully with the rest of the team – try and get back to those ways, and get back further towards the front.

"It’s something that I do have at the back of my mind, that I’m joining a very prestigious team, with a lot of success, and a great pedigree – that’s exciting. Ultimately, they offered me a fantastic opportunity to be on the F1 grid.

"I think the team is very motivated to try and get back further towards the front, as am I. I don’t want to be in F1 to make up the numbers, I want to do as well as I can and hopefully win a few things along the way.

"I think, for me, that’s the biggest thing I’m looking forward to firstly... getting on the grid, but also trying to write a new chapter of success for myself and also for the team," the 21-year-old from Melbourne concluded.

McLaren's driver lineup is not the only different aspect of the team in 2023, as they will be contesting their upcoming F1 campaign under the leadership of new team principal Andrea Stella, who was promoted to replace Sauber-bound Andreas Seidl, who replaces Frederic Vasseur at the Swiss team, the latter replacing Mattia Binotto at Ferrari.