Oscar Piastri credited with raising the level at McLaren by Lando Norris -"He should be sitting here"

Lando Norris has nothing but praise for his teammate Oscar Piastri, who stated that he too deserved a podium finish at the 2023 F1 British GP. The young rookie drove brilliantly in the race and kept his position among some of the best drivers on the grid.

Unfortunately, the safety car hampered his race a bit, as he lost his chance to get on his first podium. Lewis Hamilton overtook him during the safety car period and also had soft tires, compared to Piastri, who was on hard tires.

During the post-race press conference, second-placed Lando Norris praised Oscar Piastri and genuinely felt bad for him not being able to bag his first podium. He said (via The Race):

“I feel for him, to be honest. He should be sitting here [in the post-race podium finisher press conference]. If things went to plan and there wasn’t the safety car.”

The Briton continued:

“So it’s a bit of a shame, he deserved his first podium in Formula 1. I think it would’ve been amazing for us as team McLaren, and celebrating our 60th anniversary, Google Chrome livery, all of these things, to share it [the podium] I think would’ve been pretty special. And he deserved it. He’s been on top form all weekend. Yeah, he’s been pushing me an insane amount, which is a good thing, it’s raised the level of what we do as a team.”

Norris also stated how Oscar Piastri has been excellent ever since he joined McLaren. He also mentioned how the young Australian has been challenging him and making him a better driver as well. The British driver concluded:

“All year he’s been good – it’s not like he’s just turned up here and been strong. He’s been good since day one in the car. Makes my life tough sometimes. I don’t always like it – but it’s a good thing, at the end of the day it makes me a better driver, too. I feel for him and the team. We did everything we should’ve done to be P2 and P3. So it’s a shame he’s not sat here too."

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Oscar Piastri was delighted with McLaren MCL60's pace after British GP qualifying

Oscar Piastri got his first taste of the new upgrades that McLaren introduced in Lando Norris' car back in Austria. During the British GP qualifying, he was able to place himself in third, which was his best qualifying finish in F1 as of now. He was delighted with the result and praised the car.

Speaking to Jenson Button in the parc fermé after the session, Piastri stated:

"Very very very happy. What a qualifying session. We were almost out in Q1 and then the car was a rocketship in Q2 and Q3. Feel like I put a pretty good lap together so massive result for the team as well. To have both of us up here as well is a big result and now let's try and stay there for tomorrow."

Of course, McLaren MCL60 did not disappoint Oscar Piastri on race day as he was able to finish fourth. Though he was unable to stand on the podium, it is safe to say that he will have ample opportunities to do so in the future.