Lando Norris has praised Oscar Piastri’s ‘calm and chilled’ demeanour under pressure following a sensational rookie season in 2023. His McLaren team-mate recently spoke out against the self-critical approach to post-race analysis used in interviews by his colleague.
Piastri’s rookie campaign was a rollercoaster ride from start to finish. After scoring points in just two of the opening eight races, the 22-year-old found his footing and was unfortunate not to record a maiden F1 podium at Silverstone. This feat would arrive in Japan where he followed Norris across the line in P3.
The young Australian went one better the next time out in Qatar, finishing second in the Grand Prix and claiming a sensational sprint race victory. Despite these considerable successes, Piastri never got too high with the highs, nor did he beat himself up when weekends didn’t go to plan.
Discussing his team-mate’s year, Norris said: “Oscar had an incredible season. Keeping calm and being yourself, it’s good to be reminded of that. I think he’s been very, very good at dealing with pressure, better than I feel like I remember I was when I started.
“But I think that’s because everyone’s very different with all of this – dealing with pressure and remaining calm and chilled. I think that is something that I’ve gotten a lot better with over the years.
“I know how to deal with all of these things much better myself now. I have a lot of respect for Oscar in how he was able to stay so calm in a new environment, in Formula One, on the big stage.”
While Piastri has emanated a calm persona during his media appearances over the past 12 months, Norris can often get caught up in critiquing his own performances, often rueing missed chances to move up the grid or extract a little more pace out of his McLaren machinery.
This was something Piastri had an opinion about. He told Autosport: “I would say I’m very self-critical. For me, there’s just not any point, especially in self-deprecation, destroying yourself in front of the media. If you want to do that on your own, then sure.
“For me, just trying to find answers to things is the most important thing. There’s been some difficult sessions, some difficult races. But – and I think this also comes across in my radio – there’s no point getting upset or emotional about things you can’t control.”
