Lando Norris has praised Oscar Piastri's start at McLaren, suggesting he is "pushing me more" than former teammate Daniel Ricciardo.
Despite McLaren themselves facing a few troubles, the Australian has enjoyed some positive moments in the opening three races, reaching Q3 in Jeddah and scoring his first points at his home race in Melbourne.
And while Norris admits he is having to adjust to the new dynamic at McLaren, the Briton has been impressed by Piastri's performance to date.
“He’s doing a very good job, honestly. I feel so weird talking like I’m the older guy, the more experienced one!" he told Channel 4.
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“But he’s doing a very good job, handling the pressure extremely well I would say, I think that is something that is very strong that I’ve seen in him."
And having rarely been challenged by Ricciardo, Norris indicates the 22-year-old is a different story.
“He’s calm, he’s controlled and he’s quick, so I feel like he’s got a lot of what you need," Lando added. "He’s pushing me more than what I’ve had the last few years, which is a good thing for us as a team as well.
“So, a good job, in the points [in Australia] and not an easy weekend. He went up from 16th to eighth, so a good day for him too.”
Also cheering for Piastri is his manager, former Red Bull driver Mark Webber, who believes his first home race will only help Oscar going forward.
"It's nice to see someone go through such a phenomenal experience," he told the F1 Nation podcast.
"Every day is new for him, he's getting gradually better, which you do with experience, as any of us that have performed at an elite level [know], it's just experience that you can't buy, like all the restarts, and then the qualifying and then mixed conditions in practice at a new circuit.
"[He leaves] with a truckload more experience for next year, which is great. So the rollercoaster is real. You want to be there for the good and the bad moments."
As for Piastri himself, he welcomed the current break between Melbourne and Baku to reflect.
“Yeah, I think, for me, it’s a nice opportunity to, I guess, look back at the first three races of my F1 career and digest what went well, what went not so well,” he said via MotorsportWeek.
“And it’s a bit of a reset for the rest of the year. So, I think it’ll be nice for everyone.
“Obviously, you want to keep that momentum if you’re going well, it’s a good chance to reset if you’re not, so I think we’ll use it to our advantage.”
