Mark Webber: 'Oscar Piastri consistency makes Norris look vulnerable'

Lando Norris has brushed aside questions about his mentality as McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri stretches his championship lead.

Norris’ chassis oil leak and retirement at Zandvoort left him 34 points adrift, but Piastri had started from pole and converted the advantage into a comfortable lead and eventual victory.

His manager Mark Webber believes consistency has been the 24-year-old’s biggest weapon. “You have to be solid on all circuits, as he was in the first part of the season,” Webber told RTBF.

“Obviously, there have been lost points, but often due to things beyond his control. The gap in the points doesn’t fully reflect reality, in terms of kilometres in the lead, he is well ahead.”

Norris, however, insisted at Monza that he has “forgotten” the Dutch GP setback and rejects suggestions he lacks the steel of rivals like Max Verstappen. “Everyone is different, and it’s not that my method is necessarily the wrong one,” he told Viaplay. “I admire the character and mentality of other drivers, like Max, who really has this ‘f**k you’ attitude.

"Sometimes I wish I was more like that. But people are just different. “What I’ll be most proud of is that if I can do it, I’ll do it my way. You don’t have to be an a*shole, you don’t have to have that attitude. I want to do it my way.”

The 25-year-old Briton admitted Piastri’s calmness makes their contrast even sharper. “I know who I’m up against,” he said. “I’m up against a guy who’s just as fast and just as good as me. And he’s incredibly calm and composed. I look more emotional next to him."