There was a lot of pressure on Oscar Piastri when he entered the F1 grid. His entry with the Woking-based team grabbed news, considering the young man was taking Daniel Ricciardo‘s place, a veteran of the sport. Following that, the season for the rookie at McLaren has been nothing short of an emotional roller coaster which has caused him to do some thinking about himself.

The Papaya Army has been harboring high expectations from rookie as he has proven his mettle at junior ranks. Piastri’s voyage had many ups and downs, though, up until this point. The Australian is aware that his competition is with Lando Norris, who has demonstrated his true potential by overshadowing Daniel Ricciardo in both of the seasons. The British driver shared with the Australian and goes beyond the other teams and their drivers. So it appears that Piastri has to face an uphill battle while driving alongside consistent Norris.

Nevertheless, the F1 is taking a three-week break following the Australian GP, so Oscar Piastri may use this time to start fresh. And as we are all aware that the break has the potential to change the outcome since the team may spend most of the time focusing on refining their vehicles and tactics.

When asked what he thinks about the extended hiatus that F1 fans are experiencing owing to the cancellation of the Chinese GP, the 22-year-old, who was seen battling in the MCL 60 in the first two races, answered as quoted by speedcafe, “I think for me, it’s a nice opportunity to look back at the first three races of my F1 career for me and digest what went well, what went not so well.”

At the home race in Australia, Piastri was successful in accumulating some crucial points while finishing at P9, while referring to that, the 22-year-old said, “[It’s] A bit of a reset for the rest of the year. So think it’ll be nice for everyone. Obviously you want to keep that momentum going well, so it’s a chance to reset if you’re not. I think we’ll use it to our advantage.”

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While the rookie Australian has been having a rollercoaster of a time, the other Mclaren driver’s season also didn’t get off to a fantastic start. However, at the Australian GP, both drivers ultimately scored points for the team. Lando Norris was compelled to make some strong statements by Piastri’s tremendous skill at that point.

Claims made by Lando Norris regarding Oscar Pisatri might have an impact

The on-track connection between Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo never took off since the British driver always stole the show during the two seasons they raced together. However, it was interesting to observe how they bonded off-course. Nevertheless, Norris’ recent statement might have an effect on their relationship. As soon as the Australian Grand Prix was over, Norris commented on Oscar Paistri’s driving abilities. The British described the young Australian’s excellent performance and how the inexperienced kid handled the situation admirably.

Finally, the 23-year-old said that Piastri is pushing him harder than Ricciardo. While conversing with Channel 4, Norris said, “He does a very good job, honestly. It makes me weird to talk as if I were the oldest, the most experienced! But he does a very good job, he handles the pressure very well, I would say, I think it’s something very strong that I saw at home. He is calm, he is controlled and he is fast, so I have the impression that he has a lot of things we need. And it pushes me more than I have had in recent years, which is a good thing for us as a team too.”

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Do you think the new Mclaren duo will bring the Papaya army’s glory back?