Damon Hill: Oscar Piastri is pushing Lando Norris at McLaren

Piastri has been making waves with a string of impressive performances, notably securing his first Grand Prix victory in Hungary.

The Australian driver demonstrated his prowess by beating Norris off the line and finishing ahead of him in two of the last four races. This marks a significant shift, as Norris has only been surpassed once in an entire season—by Carlos Sainz.

Daniel Ricciardo, who partnered with Norris for two years, was unable to match the Briton's pace, but the current competition from Piastri is proving to be a different challenge.

Former F1 driver and 1996 World Champion Damon Hill suggests that Norris's recent mistakes may be attributed to the increased pressure from his teammate.

Hill notes that this is the first time Norris has faced such stiff competition within the team.

"Lando has enjoyed the status of being the person in McLaren, which provided the results for them and excited them. Now we've got Oscar, who is equally the man," said Hill.

"I still think Lando's got the edge, but it can't be comfortable when you look over your shoulder and you've out-qualified by your teammate by only a tenth of a second or even less sometimes.

"That means that every time you go out to do a lap, you have to get every tiny, tiny bit right because otherwise, you'll be behind him.

"The point is if they don't win the world championship with Lando or Oscar this year. Let's say, Lando, who's closest and they miss out by a few points, McLaren will look back at Hungary and go, why do we do that?"

The heightened rivalry comes at a critical juncture for McLaren, as the team positions itself to challenge Red Bull for the title.

Hill predicts that Norris will continue to encounter difficulties as Piastri steadily closes the gap throughout the season.