Lando Norris believes McLaren young driver Alex Palou will face multiple challenges when he takes to the track in Friday's FP1 session at Austin.
Palou has enjoyed two private tests with McLaren in recent weeks, the 2021 NTT IndyCar Series champion running at the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona and at the Red Bull Ring in Austria onboard McLaren's 2021-spec MCL35M to familiarize himself with F1.
But the 25-year-old Spaniard - who will replace Daniel Ricciardo in the opening session - will be heading into the unknown later in Friday's first official practice according to Norris.
"I mean it’s always tough coming into an FP1, especially in a car he’s never driven before," said the McLaren driver.
"He’s done some of the test days in the previous car, but this one is quite a different one on such a cool track as well, so it’s not going to be easy."
Among the many challenges facing Palou is simply the short amount of time he will have to get to grips with everything, assuming he enjoys a clen session.
"It’s not like he has a lot of time, especially with the tyres and things," added Norris. "You don’t get that many laps of feeling good grip and things, but he’s an extremely good driver."
Indeed, Palou's track record in IndyCar speaks to the Spaniard's outstanding skills.
"I’ve known Alex… since karting, I’ve known him, more personally probably the last few years. But he’s an incredibly good driver, very talented. And he’s in the car for a reason," confirmed Norris.
"He can give good insight and some valuable details for us and help us out as much as possible so he’ll do a good job."
McLaren has assigned Pato O'Ward to its second young driver FP1 session that will take place in Abu Dhabi next month.
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