Lando Norris the target of fresh Helmut Marko criticism with Oscar Piastri claim made

Lando Norris and Helmut Marko.

Red Bull senior advisor Helmut Marko branded Oscar Piastri the “mentally stronger” of the two McLaren drivers as Lando Norris looks to reel in Championship leader Max Verstappen.

Norris is the closest challenger to Red Bull’s Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship standings, Verstappen’s lead 78 points over Norris, but with McLaren’s rapid rise making them a severe threat to Verstappen and Red Bull, Piastri has been holding his own and then some against team-mate Norris.

Helmut Marko: Oscar Piastri ‘mentally stronger’ than Lando Norris

Additional reporting by Thomas Maher

Piastri claimed his first Grand Prix win by heading a McLaren one-two in Hungary, before finishing runner-up next time out in Belgium, where Norris finished P5 having harried Verstappen but found no way through. A poor start hampered Norris who again proved to be highly self-critical after the race.

Piastri has reduced his deficit to Norris to 32 points, but with McLaren sensing an F1 2024 title challenge, Zak Brown, McLaren Racing CEO, has teased that team orders may need to come into play at some stage.

“It’s very important we let both drivers race, they’re both very capable of winning races as they’ve shown,” Brown began when speaking to Channel 4.

“Obviously as we get later into the season, depending on where Lando is, if there’s areas that Oscar can help support in his quest for the Championship, we also are chasing a Constructors’ Championship.

“It’ll be something that Andrea [Stella, team principal] takes a view on that’s probably a race-by-race thing. You’d never really want to compromise a big result for Oscar. Can he help him in some other ways? But I think we’ll just take it one race at a time.”

And seemingly in reference to that, Marko, speaking to Sky Germany, expressed his belief that Piastri is stronger mentally than Norris.

“I don’t know what the points difference is between the two McLaren drivers, but it seems Piastri is mentally the stronger one,” said Marko.

“Oscar has gradually closed the gap to Lando and is even faster at times. But we will see how the decision turns out.”

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With Formula 1 now into its summer shutdown, Norris said he needed this opportunity to reset having recently made too many “stupid” mistakes.

Among them he highlighted the start of the Belgian GP, where he ran wide out of Turn 1 and dropped from fourth to seventh.

“I think I just need it to reset,” Norris told media including PlanetF1.com.

“I’ve given away a lot of points over the last three, four races, just because of stupid stuff and mistakes, bad starts.

“I don’t know why. It’s just silly things, it’s not even difficult stuff. It’s just Turn 1, try to stay out of trouble, trying to make sure there’s a gap and not get hit and I put myself off the track, so just some stupid things.”

The F1 2024 campaign resumes with the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort on August 25.

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