McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri had a pretty inspiring finish to last season, lending plenty to believe that if the Papaya-Orange makes necessary adjustments to its challenger ahead of this season, they could emerge as the leading rivals to Red Bull.
However, the demeanour of both drivers was distinctly different when it came to how they approached the media in the post-race sessions.
Although Norris got far more points than his teammate, he was often highly self-critical of his performances while Piastri seemed to show a much more calm and chilled out attitude.
This led Piastri to recently say that Norris’ approach was not one that he is overly keen on inculcating himself, claiming that it didn’t make sense to ‘destroy yourself’ publicly.
While Piastri didn’t mean any offence to his teammate, Norris has responded to this statement in a rather classy manner.
“Oscar had an incredible season. Keeping calm and being yourself, it’s good to be reminded of that,” Norris said.
“I think he’s been very, very good at dealing with pressure, better than I feel like I remember I was when I started.
“But I think that’s because everyone’s very different with all of this – dealing with pressure and remaining calm and chilled. I think that is something that I’ve gotten a lot better with over the years.
“I know how to deal with all of these things much better myself now. I have a lot of respect for Oscar in how he was able to stay so calm in a new environment, in Formula One, on the big stage.”
Speaking about how Norris would handle his post-race interviews, Piastri felt there was no point being self-critical.
“I would say I’m very self-critical,” the Australian said.
“For me, there’s just not any point, especially in self-deprecation, destroying yourself in front of the media. If you want to do that on your own, then sure.
“For me, just trying to find answers to things is the most important thing. There’s been some difficult sessions, some difficult races.
“But – and I think this also comes across in my radio – there’s no point getting upset or emotional about things you can’t control.”
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