Oscar Piastri eager to match Lando Norris after McLaren’s thumping win in Dutch GP

Oscar Piastri believes that Lando Norris' victory margin in the Dutch GP is a sign for him to improve his performance. Speaking to media including Sportskeeda, the McLaren driver felt the compromised start in the race set the tone for the rest of the race in Zandvoort.

Starting third on the grid, Piastri could only finish in fourth place in the race. Unlike Norris, the Australian stayed out for longer to cover off his teammate in the pitstops, leading to him becoming a sacrificial lamb in the process. For the majority of the race, the 22-year-old was stuck behind Charles Leclerc, who was quicker than expected at the Zandvoort circuit.

Piastri said he feels the 22.7-second gap between Norris and Max Verstappen is a sign that he needs to step it up in the future. He felt the poor lap in the final stint in qualifying on Saturday coupled with a bad race start hampered his chances of fighting for the podium or indeed the win. McLaren brought a heavily upgraded MCL38 to Zandvoort but limited running in the practice sessions did not give a fair idea of the leap they had made in terms of performance.

Asked by Sportskeeda if Norris' gap to Verstappen was an encouraging sign for him going forward, Piastri replied:

“I think there was definitely moments of the weekend, where I felt very strong and very comfortable. You know, it felt like Friday was pretty strong, especially over one lap. Even qualifying was looking very strong. Just I didn't find enough on the last lap of qualifying and then yeah, that made life a bit painful.

"And then accompanied by a bad start today, It really kind of set the for the afternoon. So um yeah you know when your teammate wins by 20 seconds, you know clearly there's things to work on and improve. So I'll try and make sure that i'm back in the game next week,” he added.

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Oscar Piastri feels that Ferrari could be a factor at Monza

Oscar Piastri believes that the Monza circuit could pose a unique set of challenges. He reckoned that the resurfaced tarmac and changes to the layout might factor into the performance across the grid. Historically the circuit has been a strong one for Ferrari, making McLaren’s job slightly harder. The McLaren driver felt that the team's car has been the quickest since the Miami race but other teams could be close in the fight for the top five spots in the Italian race.

Outlining his expectations for the race in Monza, Piastri said:

“I think, you know, we've been very quick at pretty much every circuit since Miami, I would say. So I'm not really concerned. I think Ferrari will probably be a bit quicker. You know, in the past, that's where they've been very strong. And, you know, today they had a quicker car than I think a lot of people expected. So I'm expecting them to be a bit more in the fight.

"It's been surfaced and a few curves have been changed quite a lot so I think it'll be a bit of a learning curve for everybody especially with new tarmac because a lot of the tarmac there was very old but yeah I think we should be going every weekend with the expectation of trying to win,” he added.

Piastri has clinched one victory and four podiums in the 2024 season while his teammate Norris has now scored two victories and seven podium places. The Melbourne-born driver is currently fourth in the driver’s standings with a total tally of 179 points. He trails Leclerc by 13 points and Norris by 46 points.

McLaren is currently second in the championship standings and one 42 points behind Red Bull Racing. However, Norris’ victory margin has made a statement that the constructor's championship and drivers' championship are within reach for the Papaya Orange team.