Lando Norris has insisted his relationship with Oscar Piastri hasn’t changed despite their Formula 1 title battle, as he revealed the attribute he admires from his team-mate.
The Briton arrives at this weekend’s Las Vegas Grand Prix with a 24-point lead over Piastri and could win the title without winning another race this season, results permitting.
Norris has been in electrifying form, taking dominant victories in both Mexico and Brazil, as Piastri has suffered considerably, having failed to win since Zandvoort in August.
The pair have come together in both Canada and Singapore, with other contentious intra-team issues along the way, which would leave some team-mates disliking the other’s company.
But Norris revealed that the pair are still more than cordial with one another, and revealed why both of them are seen less together on McLaren’s social media than in previous seasons.
“No, I think the reason you see less videos is because we both asked to do less videos!” he explained to media including Motorsport Week.
“We’re racing drivers, we want to come and drive, not make videos for social media. Yeah, that’s our request as drivers, but we still get made to do plenty.
“Otherwise, it’s still the same [their relationship]. I’m very happy. I think we both are happy that that’s how it is.
“It’s not because that’s just how it is. It’s because we both have a lot of respect for one another, and we both understand the position that we’re in.
“We both treat the world of driving versus just personally what we’re like away from the track quite differently. That’s how I’ve always been.
“I feel like I’ve always got on well with my team-mates since go-karting.
“I’ve always wanted to because it just makes my life more fun, more enjoyable, and that’s also why I’m here.It’s because I love what I do, so the more I can do that, the better.”
Norris insists Piastri relationship ‘better than it’s ever been’
The focal crux of Norris and Piastri’s title battle this year has been how it has been managed by McLaren, which has been relentless and unwavering in its ‘team first’ policy.
Norris revealed that he and the Australian have not lost sight of that mentality instilled into them, despite their fraught battle for glory, and explained the character traits that Piastri has that he so admires.
“We still just very much understand that we’re here, we work for McLaren, we want the best for the team,” he explained.
“We work very hard, and as drivers always do, you try and maximise your own performance more than anything.
“But then when we step out of the car, we can still have a joke, we still have laughs in our debriefs, and we still enjoy everything away from the track.
“No, I think it’s still better than ever in many ways. I think we’re still very different people. He’s very just calm down to earth, very relaxed, always looks just cool, and that’s something I also admire quite a bit, is how just plain sailing he is with a lot of things.
“It’s a good attribute to have. Always hard to read what mood he’s in. I think probably for me, you see more visually the moods I’m in, but otherwise, it’s not like we go play golf together and do things like I have done with Carlos.
“Daniel [Ricciardo], I didn’t play golf with, but we’re still different people, but in terms of relationship, we get along well, we still work together well, and I think it’s still better than it’s ever been.”
READ MORE – Why Oscar Piastri’s struggles could continue at F1 Las Vegas GP
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