18 October 2023 , 06:30
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Two-time world champions Emerson Fittipaldi has hailed Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri as the best pairing on the F1 grid, snubbing Lewis Hamilton and George Russell in the process.
Norris and Piastri have led McLaren in a stunning surge in the second-half of the season, scoring seven podiums and one sprint race win between them. The team are now Red Bull 's closest challengers heading into the final stretch of the season.
It is an impressive turnaround from the start of the year, when both Norris and Piastri were struggling at the back of the grid. That has led to Fittpaldi crowning the duo as the grid's strongest pairing, overlooking the Mercedes team of Hamilton and Russell.
Hamilton of course has won seven world championships, while Russell is seen as being a future champion. But Fittipaldi believes it is the McLaren pair who lead the way as teammates.
"I think what Verstappen is saying is that they are two young talents who are extremely fast. To me, Piastri has been a surprise, doing as well as he is doing in his first year in F1. He's adapted himself very well to the car, to the team," he told Vegas Insider.
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"I think he's doing an amazing job. Lando Norris, we know his qualities and talent. That's already been proven. And I understand what Max is trying to say. This is the best balance of equal drivers in one team.
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Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have been hailed as the best driver pairing on the grid (Bryn Lennon - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images))"In one way, it helps to be so competitive. I'm sure, the information that Piastri gets driving the McLaren to the limit and Norris, both working together. The engineers exchange information. All this, for sure, will improve McLaren's performance.
"I remember when I was with Ronnie Peterson, we had a completely transparent setup and we talked to each other, to Colin (Chapman), with the team. And I think that makes a big difference, when there is collaboration between the drivers. That helps a lot."
Fittipaldi believes that the McLaren's will prove to be a tough test for champion Max Verstappen at this weekend's American Grand Prix. Verstappen has stormed to the title, but Fittipaldi insisted life will not be easy for him in Austin.
"I think McLaren's pairing is a very good combination. I'm sure they'll have hard times on the track, trying to overtake each other. COTA is a very difficult track to get the maximum out of the car because you have many different types of corners," he added.
"Some very difficult sections to follow up. If you missed the first one, you're going to miss the other ones. A very long straight with very hard braking. In my opinion, it is very difficult to set up the car properly and optimize it for the track.
"And that goes the same for driving. It's a challenging track to drive. It's a demanding track. I can see this year, the McLarens should be very fast there. I think they're coming to a point where they can be the Red Bull's biggest challengers. Verstappen still has the big advantage."