Oscar Piastri has a message for his McLaren team-mate as he and Lando Norris set their sights on Red Bull in 2024.
Oscar Piastri has told Lando Norris that they must continue to be ‘respectful’ in their racing with one another, while also keeping open communication if they are to take the fight to Red Bull in 2024. McLaren enjoyed a stellar second half of the 2023 campaign and are hoping to continue their steep development trajectory over the winter.
The Woking-based team turned up at the season opener in Bahrain with the slowest car of all ten teams and after another miserable weekend in Jeddah, matters were looking concerning for Zak Brown and Andrea Stella.
But McLaren mounted a fierce comeback as the season moved into the European leg, led by Norris, who turned this performance into consecutive podium finishes at Silverstone and the Hungaroring.
Following a run of reliable top-ten results for both drivers, Piastri finally had his chance to shine, taking home his first podium in Suzuka, then going on to win the sprint race in Qatar and add a P2 finish in the Grand Prix to his resume.
Speaking to Motorsport.com, Piastri said: “The relationship is still exactly the same. Of course, we’re not winning [titles] at the moment. We’re a lot closer than we were, but we still need to find that bit more to challenge and to beat Red Bull.
“So, it’s still very important for us to work together and help the team develop the car. The team back at MTC and the engineers here are all doing their best to try and help things. But if me and Lando have got any additional info or directions on things, then anything we can do to help is going to help both of us.
“In terms of data and stuff like that, it’s all completely open. There are no barriers or anything and that won’t change. We just need to make sure that our racing is respectful. But apart from that, it’s all good.”
Both Piastri and Norris will be hoping that McLaren can close the gap to Red Bull even further over the winter. Brown’s team ended the 2023 season in P4 in the Constructors’ Championship standings but were the most consistent challengers to Max Verstappen over the second half of the season.
With their own cutting-edge wind tunnel now operational at the McLaren Technology Centre, he and team principal Stella have made positive noises about the team’s work thus far during the winter break. The groundwork has been laid to take on the defending constructor champions.