Rosberg: Norris is scared that his teammate has no weaknesses
Nico Rosberg believes that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have already matched each other in terms of raw speed, but the Australian McLaren driver, who leads the drivers' championship, has a psychological advantage over his teammate.
After Norris's victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix, Piastri's lead was reduced to just nine points, although after the Canadian round it had reached 22 points. In the last four races McLaren drivers have taken the top two positions, with Lando standing on the top step of the podium on three occasions.
If this continues, they could not only match Mercedes' historic record set in 2019 (five consecutive one-two finishes), but surpass it.
However, while the more experienced Norris was considered the main title contender at the start of the season, the situation now looks different: after Piastri's victory in the April Saudi Arabian Grand Prix he moved ahead and has held the lead in the drivers' standings ever since.
"You can no longer say that Lando is a bit faster than his teammate. At some point you have to stop repeating that; there are no grounds for it anymore," says the 2016 world champion. "Oscar constantly demonstrates superb speed, and I believe the McLaren drivers are equal in that respect.
The fate of the championship will be decided by Lando's psychological state. Unfortunately, that's the impression I have. Will he be able to withstand the pressure? I know he's working on it, blocking social media and taking all the other measures.
Oscar performs with exceptional confidence. He surprised me: although we knew he was an excellent driver, last year Lando was ahead of him. But this year Oscar is showing incredible confidence; he combines consistency and speed. He has no weak spots — and that's exactly what frightens Lando, who still has weaknesses."
After 14 rounds of the season, the tally of qualifying duels between the McLaren drivers is 8–6 in Piastri's favor, and he also has one more win than his teammate — the Australian has stood atop the podium six times this season.
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Rosberg: Norris is scared that his teammate has no weaknesses
Nico Rosberg believes that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri are equal in terms of speed, but the Australian McLaren driver has a psychological advantage over his teammate...