Oscar Piastri’s manager has already shown Lando Norris exactly how he should change his interview answers

Lando Norris goes into the two-week break between Saudi Arabia and Miami having lost his lead in the Drivers’ Championship to teammate Oscar Piastri.

Piastri has looked like the more assured driver this year so far, having got to grips with the knife-edge MCL39 in qualifying and produced consistent results in the races.

Norris has looked less comfortable with the car, with McLaren set to produce an upgrade that will help the Briton after identifying a potential issue with his driving style.

Martin Brundle has noted how Norris gives away too much to his rivals when speaking to the media, having typically employed his self-deprecating humour to describe how he’s feeling about leading the championship.

Norris is an ambassador for mental health charity Mind, which would go some way to explain why he is often open in his interviews about the problems he is facing.

The Briton has been told he needs to change his approach, but he could employ similar tactics to Piastri’s manager, Mark Webber, as highlighted by journalist Matt Coch on the Pit Talk podcast.

Lando Norris should learn from Mark Webber on how to deal with F1 media

Webber is a key ally of Piastri, having managed him through his career since he was in junior formulas, providing him with a wealth of experience from his 11 years as an F1 driver.

The Australian always had a particular way with how he would deal with questions from the media, particularly at the height of his championship battle with Sebastian Vettel in 2010.

This is something Norris could observe if he wants to improve his approach, rather than giving away things that could be used by his rivals later in the season.

“I covered a lot of Mark Webber’s career and one of Mark’s sort of go-to phrases, he would always say ‘I will give nothing’ which means I’m giving absolutely nothing away to anybody, meaning the media and any of his opponents,” said Coch.

“He wasn’t going to give you any piece of information that could be used as a weakness or turned against him or provide any fodder that might unseat his rock solid foundation.”

Max Verstappen has already dismissed Lando Norris as a title threat

In the aftermath of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen was asked what he thinks Piastri has improved the most in the last 12 months.

The Dutchman praised him for his calmness and lack of errors, something that has often let Norris down at the height of battle on track.

“Last year was his second year, now he’s in his third year and he’s very solid. He’s very calm in his approach, and I like that. It shows on-track,” said Verstappen.

“He delivers when he has to, barely makes mistakes – and that’s what you need when you want to fight for a championship.”

Verstappen is going for his fifth consecutive title in F1, but Red Bull has struggled to produce a car that can regularly win races.

The sheer brilliance of Verstappen has brought him almost level on points with Norris, which is perhaps indicative of how much the Briton will need to focus on his consistency heading into the European rounds.