Lando Norris of McLaren F1 "I'm looking forward to a new challenge with Piastri"[F1-Gate.com]

Lando Norris says he is looking forward to a partnership with Oscar Piastri, who will join the McLaren F1 team in 2023.

McLaren confirmed last weekend that Oscar Piastri will join the team for 2023 following a ruling from its contract approval committee.

Oscar Piastri became Lando Norris’ third teammate at McLaren, partnering Carlos Sainz and Daniel Ricciardo (who will leave the team at the end of 2022) for two seasons each.

Lando Norris will be the more experienced driver in the team for the first time in his F1 career, but doesn’t expect much to change.

“I don’t think it’s a big change, to be honest,” Lando Norris told Sky F1.

“I just keep doing what I’m doing. I’m confident and happy where I am.”

“I’m looking forward to working with new people. It’s a different job. You have to talk in different ways and understand each other in different ways.”

“This is going to be a big challenge for me and a new challenge for me and the whole team. I’m looking forward to it.”

“I don’t know Oscar very well. I’ve only spoken to him a couple of times. But he’s clearly a great talent and a good driver. I’m looking forward to it. But it’s still six months away. It’s about

Lando Norris also said Daniel Ricciardo’s departure from McLaren has not dampened the spirit of the team and Ricciardo remains committed to helping the team in 2022.

“From the Daniel side, I still think it’s great,” said Lando Norris.

“From what I’ve seen in my life so far, I can understand when people try, sometimes people are lazy.”

“You can see how Daniel understands everything and puts in the time and effort to be faster.”

“Everyone is still motivated and I think Daniel is probably as motivated as ever to be in the best shape and have a good run with the team.”

“That’s what I want to do as a driver and prove myself. It’s still fun and the mechanics love it.”

“The team is full of energy. It’s tough and we don’t want to fight for 10th and 12th, but we’ve also seen glimpses of ‘if we improve a little bit, we can get here’. I am confident that in the future we will be able to do that.”