After Making Lando Norris Feel ‘Unsettled’, Oscar Piastri Vibes off as Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso to McLaren Boss

Oscar Piastri has been a sensational revelation this year. In his rookie year, he is already considered to be at par with his also talented teammate Lando Norris. And many are just waiting to see what more the young Australian lad has in his kitty to produce. However, his boss Andrea Stella, according to Motorsport Week, already keeps immense faith in him as he claims that he makes him think of Fernando Alonso and Michael Schumacher.

Piastri, in his debut season, has already won a podium. But he isn’t too enthusiastic about his little success stories. Rather always keen to find where he could improve.

Go Aussie go! 🇦🇺🙌@OscarPiastri becomes the SIXTH driver from Down Under to score a podium 🙃#F1 pic.twitter.com/ofdhg7N86e

— Formula 1 (@F1) September 25, 2023

And that reflects in his following performances as the trajectory of Piastri has never dipped over this season. That’s why he is kept at high regard on the grid.

McLaren boss think of GOATs when it’s about Oscar Piastri

The hunger to learn and improve in Piastri is something that has impressed Stella. So much so that he gets direct comparison with two legendary drivers out of which one is still active- Schumacher and Alonso.

“Just attitude to continuous improvements. In this sense, I think this one is a similarity with Fernando,” said Stella. “The values he brings into the sport and the values he brings into the collaboration with the team in this sense make me think about Michael,” he added.

With his boss keeping him such a high regard, it was obvious that the Aussie would soon get an extension. That’s what happened when before flying to Japan, Piastri was declared to continue with the Papaya team until 2026. But would that be a problem for Norris?

A mess McLaren might have to handle

Ever since Piastri has managed to be at par with Norris, still a few hundredths of a second deficit here and there, it has been reported that Norris might not take it well. Joe Saward in his recent blog even claimed that Norris might start looking elsewhere.

Even Norris recently claimed that the competition by Piastri is pushing him. And most probably, With more experience, the 2021 F2 champion is only likely to get better.

So, once McLaren gets competitive and might start going for the wins or a championship contention, then it could create some drama at Woking. But that’s future McLaren’s problem.

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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