Norris excited to see what Herta and Piastri can do

Lando Norris says Alpine reserve Oscar Pisatri deserves a full-time seat in F1 while the Briton is impatient to see how IndyCar star and good friend Colton Herta performs when he tests for McLaren later this season.

Herta has been enrolled into the Woking-based outfit's testing programme that will see the young American driver undergo an evaluation at the wheel of a 2021 MCL35M under F1's new Testing of Previous Cars provision.

As for last year's FIA Formula 2 Champion, Piastri is waiting in the wings at Alpine with whom he will test at some point this year. But the Aussie is now also apart of McLaren's pool of reserve drivers following an agreement signed between the papaya q-squad and Alpine.

"It’s good, it’s always good to have the new drivers, apart from never wanting them to be quicker than you!" said Norris, quoted by RACER.

"They’re always welcome, it’s always good to have them. Especially if there’s two old drivers in the team, to have someone new come in and be there waiting is always a good thing.

"Especially Oscar because of how he performed last year in F2 is pretty amazing, so it’s deserved.

"And when someone deserves it they should be in Formula 1, they can just get unlucky with timing and everything like that.

"It’s always good, they’re good drivers. Colton I know very well and I grew up with him a little bit, so one of my good mates. So I’m excited to see what they can do."

• Read also: McLaren enrolls Herta into 2022 test programme!

Herta was initially considered for a switch to F1 by his IndyCar team boss Michael Andretti during the latter's unsuccessful talks to take over the Alfa Romeo F1 team.

The botched deal won't see Herta join the grid this season, but Andretti – a close friend and associate of McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown - is supportive of his driver's apprenticeship with McLaren.

"I think it’s really important for the programs that we’re working on, obviously, and so McLaren was good enough to get him some miles in the car, which I think it’d be really good for him, plus it helps getting points towards his super license," Andretti told RACER.

"So it was really cool of McLaren to do that."

"You know that Zak wants to show that Americans can drive race cars and I think he’d love to see Colton go over there and put in some really good lap times," added the American team owner who still ambitions to join F1 in the future.

"But then also it helps Colton out, helps us out getting him for miles in the car early. There’s a lot of good things that could come out of it."

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