Which is the best driver pairing on the grid right now? Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at Mercedes? Considering how the past few weeks have gone, the two are definitely not on the best terms. How about Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz at Ferrari? They’re up there, but things between them haven’t been the most tension-free either. Surprisingly, a driver pairing that most thought would be pretty explosive has turned out to be one that complements each other the most. Which one? Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri at McLaren.

Because of how close they are in age, and the amount of talent they both possess, everyone expected their rivalry to blow up. Instead, it’s been quite the opposite. Norris has been Piastri’s benchmark all year, someone he’s looked up to (and outperformed occasionally). Piastri has proved helpful to Norris as well, especially at the US GP. They make up for the lack of explosive rivalry on track with a banter-filled rivalry off-track, though.

Oscar Piastri exposed Lando Norris to the public

Lando Norris is not beyond embarrassing himself. He’s done it multiple times, and it doesn’t look like he’ll stop soon. Remember the podium celebrations at the Hungarian GP this season? Norris broke Max Verstappen’s handmade porcelain trophy and blamed it on the Dutchman. Or even when he forgot his best friend, Max Fewtrell’s birthday. Piastri even called him out for it on McLaren’s YouTube channel. That’s precisely where the Aussie rookie embarrassed Norris even further.

In a game of ‘Who’s Most Likely To,’ posted by McLaren on YouTube, the question was: “Who is most likely to sleep in?” At first, Norris and Piastri both said Oscar would be the most likely of the two to sleep in. Piastri said, “I’m saying it’s me. Love my sleep,” to which Norris attested, “100% Oscar. I think he’s done it a few times already.” The “done it a few times already” bit didn’t stick too well with Piastri and that’s when he decided to expose his 23-year-old teammate.

Piastri said, “Woah woah woah. I don’t think I have yet. Actually, I’m changing my answer.”  That made Norris sweat and ask, “What?! Why?” Piastri didn’t miss a beat and revealed, “There was a factory day that was a little bit late,” and well, the secret was out. Norris couldn’t do anything but accept it, saying, “You just outed me to the public domain. You just opened up a can of worms now, mate.”

Over the years, it has become clear that Norris loves his sleep. Who doesn’t remember David Croft saying, “And it’s all too much for little Lando Norris. 21 years old. He just needs a bit of sleep,” at the rain-washed 2021 Belgian GP? Or even all the other times he’s taken a nap when there’s been a Red Flag. 

As much as Norris loves his sleep, though, Piastri is no different. Apart from his “love my sleep” confession, he’s expressed his affinity for sleep on many occasions.

Read More: Innocent Game Turns Into Fierce Competition as Oscar Piastri Picks Sworn Rival in Battle Against Lando Norris’ “Best Friend”

Piastri may love his sleep more than Norris

Sleep is very important for F1 drivers. Because of how physically and mentally taxing the sport is, sleep is one of the best forms of recovery for them. If they don’t sleep well, their chances of adapting to different tracks and conditions lessen. If they don’t perform at the top of their games, well, it won’t look too good for them.

This is why a lot of drivers, including Norris, travel with their own pillow, one that they’re used to sleeping on. While this is a pretty common thing to do, have you ever heard of a driver catching up on sleep while training?

Enter Oscar Piastri. When Piastri was training for his rookie F2 season in 2021, there were quite a few times the Aussie was seen sleeping while training. A fan even posted pictures on X, and Piastri replied, “What can I say, I’m missing racing. And I love my sleep. 😴” Two days after that, Piastri posted pictures of him training, one of which was zoomed into his face and he looked like he was asleep. He wrote, “I don’t normally sleep when I train. Well, my face stays asleep, but the rest of me is active(ly dying at the hands of the skiing machine)” 

What do you think about Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s love for sleep?

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