When Lando Norris joined McLaren, many saw him as the hero the team needed. He’s not just a valuable asset to McLaren. Top teams such as Red Bull have previously expressed an interest in him. Now the 23-year-old has become his team’s senior driver since the arrival of Oscar Piastri. This means he’s not just a young rookie anymore. And it doesn’t help that the Australian’s arrival has had a major impact on Norris’s psyche.

Piastri has set the McLaren rivalry on fire since his arrival, closely matching his now-experienced teammate. To make things worse, Piastri beat Norris to get a win for McLaren first, at the Qatar GP Sprint Race, reminiscent of Ricciardo’s Monza win in 2021. With Norris struggling under the pressure, Zak Brown and Company have come to the Brit’s aid. However, why should Piastri pay the price for Norris’s struggles? Ex-Ferrari Technical Manager Peter Windsor was quick to call out McLaren’s approach to deal with the boiling rivalry.

Peter Windsor thinks McLaren’s radio to Lando Norris was “rather strange”

During final practice before qualifying, Norris’s race engineer had asked to work on different lines through turns 13-16. These are the last few corners at Circuit of The Americas, creating a final set of esses before the corners smoothen out till the last turn. This was presumably because Piastri was gaining time on Norris in those turns. But Peter Windsor was left confused. In his US GP Qualifying analysis video, he shared his feelings on McLaren’s tactics.

He expressed, “Rather strange place for them to say that, and it’s interesting. I don’t know whether that’s shorthand for things they have talked about, which is – ‘Oscar is definitely using shorter corners, and you need to start thinking about that because that’s where he’s getting an advantage over you’.”

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Formula 1 drivers each have unique driving styles. While some drivers adapt to the car, others prefer to stick to their roots. It has worked for drivers in the past to stay true to themselves, like Kimi Raikkonen. However, the current competitiveness requires drivers to adapt to the team, and well, if they don’t, someone else will.

In a  way, this is what’s happening with Norris. But it isn’t as if Piastri is talented and Norris isn’t. The Australian’s driving style suits the car better, as he uses shorter lines through turns. Windsor was quick to point out that it was odd because there wasn’t really any other context. If the team expects Norris to improve just by pointing out where Piastri is better, it’s going to do the Brit no good. There are a lot of fundamentals that go into driving styles, but if the reason behind his issue is unknown to him, how can Norris react appropriately?

Norris’ McLaren life takes an ironic turn

During the 2021 season, McLaren enlisted seasoned driver Daniel Ricciardo to compete for them alongside Lando Norris. Unfortunately for the Woking outfit, the McLaren just did not suit Ricciardo’s driving style. Norris walked all over him in the teammate battle. The Brit out-qualified Ricciardo 15 times over 22 races in 2021 and continued this show of dominance against his senior by bringing in 116 points compared to the Honey Badger’s lowly 34 points. Ricciardo was being beaten by his less experienced teammate for two seasons consecutively, and it had quite an effect on Ricciardo’s contract with McLaren.

Lando Norris may be claiming Déjà vu after Piastri’s arrival, but this time, the tables have been turned. The Brit has now become a seasoned driver, and Piastri is the feisty rookie that Norris once was. While they seem to be pretty even, it starts to look poor for Norris when we account because it’s Piastri’s rookie season! He’s gotten up to speed so quickly that fans might forget that point! But Lando Norris will not forget it, as he seems to be highly critical of himself every time Piastri beats him.

Will the rivalry at McLaren unfold into the Senna and Prost disaster at Suzuka, or is this level of internal competition healthy for the duo? Formula 1 is ruthless, and if you snooze, you lose! McLaren can try all the tactics they want when it comes to helping Norris catch up to Piastri. But ultimately, if Norris buckles under pressure from the Aussie, his place on the team may be compromised. One thing’s for sure, the McLaren duo are giving the Papaya Army a stellar season to watch!

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