Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris have been breathing right down Max Verstappen’s neck in the past three races, as Red Bull have struggled with its car. At the upcoming Canadian GP, the Austrian team may grapple with similar issues as Imola and Monaco, and it may give McLaren the impetus. Based on these factors, 1996 F1 champion Damon Hill predicted that Piastri could win his maiden Grand Prix in Montreal.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Hill stated, “Let’s say Oscar [Piastri] is buoyed and has a little bit of extra motivation, having seen his teammate win one and he knew he was on the front row in Imola. And it’s a similar type of track, from the demands of the car. Let’s say Oscar could do it”.
Norris stole the show at the Miami GP with his maiden win, after McLaren introduced their mega upgrade package to the MCL38. Piastri got that upgrade package on his car in Imola. And, in the past two races in Imola and Monaco, the Australian driver has been better than Norris, be it by a slim margin.
On top of that, Piastri claimed his career-best result in Monaco with a P2 finish. While he won a sprint race last year in Qatar, the #81 driver would be hoping to get a Grand Prix win as well. As Hill mentioned, Norris’ win in Miami and McLaren’s consistency at the sharp end of the grid may be enough motivation for Piastri to get the win in Canada.
If the 23-year-old can win in Montreal, it would be a huge development in the 2024 championship. While it would give the Woking team a massive boost with its second win of the year, Piastri would become the fifth different race winner of 2024.
Can Oscar Piastri match and edge out Lando Norris in Canada?
Lando Norris has been by and large the team leader at McLaren in the past two to three years. However, Oscar Piastri has done a great job to match the Briton and has often been close to him ever since debuting in 2023.
The major obstacle he has faced in matching and beating Norris has been his race pace. Struggling with tire management throughout his rookie year, Piastri was always shy of Norris’ race pace.
Imola and Monaco double header. ✅#F1 pic.twitter.com/7F0tTb3T8K
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) May 30, 2024
Coming into the 2024 season, the Aussie has worked on this shortcoming of his and has shown good progress. Meanwhile, even his qualifying pace has been quite close to the British driver, with an average gap of just 0.042 seconds.
Add to that, his impressive race pace in Imola and Monaco have shown evidence that Piastri can beat Norris if he can avoid other factors such as a narrow track or grid penalties. So, it would be worth watching what the #81 driver can produce in Montreal, a track that promotes great racing and overtaking.
