Lando Norris intriguingly compares Oscar Piastri to Daniel Ricciardo

Norris and Ricciardo were a popular duo with McLaren for two seasons until the veteran Australian was unceremoniously dumped from his seat.

Piastri, the rookie who replaced him, claimed his first F1 podium in the most recent race in Japan.

“I'm not afraid to say it, he's pushed me more than the last couple of years,” Norris told RacingNews365.

“He’s just adapted quicker to driving the car. And therefore he's pushed me more.

“It’s a good thing for me because you do want somebody who can push you, someone you can learn from. You're always going to be learning.

“It’s been good. Of course, it's more stressful having a quicker teammate. I have to deal with it.

“I have to work a little bit harder to understand some of his driving styles and how he does things because he does things which aren’t the most common at times.

“It’s been good for me, good for the team. We kind of have similar comments, different ways at times driving, sometimes very similar. But our comments always generally want the same things.

“We’ve been brought up in different ways and drove different cars, different teams, so always our comments are going to be different.

“And that's always a good thing that you kind of have two perspectives. I think ‘it needs to be better because of this’ and he goes ‘maybe it’ll be better because of this’.”

Norris has racked up four P2 finishes in the past seven grands prix.

McLaren’s upgraded car has been the story of the past few months as they have established themselves as the newest and, often, closest threat to Red Bull.

Norris has long been a feted talent tipped for future championships but now, with Piastri alongside him, McLaren have two drivers with huge futures.

Ricciardo, meanwhile, spent the first half of 2023 off the F1 grid before returning with AlphaTauri, where he will remain next season.