Oscar Piastri is already showing his true worth in F1 by putting in exceptional performances for McLaren in his rookie season. Piastri was one of the major topics of discussion in the latest edition of The Race F1 Podcast, where it was discussed whether Red Bull is regretting missing out on him. However, F1 expert Scott Mitchell Malm believes that having the Australian in place of the $ 10,000,000-earning star Sergio Perez will not be ideal for Red Bull.
Piastri made quite a name for himself due to his exploits in the junior categories before he moved into Formula 1. He won the 2020 Formula 3 championship in what was his rookie season before moving on to Formula 2 and repeating the same achievement in 2021. At a point in time, he was considered to be on the same level as that of Charles Leclerc or George Russell.
However, Piastri had to spend a year on the sidelines. In 2023, he finally found a seat in F1 but spent the majority of his time in the shadows of Lando Norris. Mitchell Malm believes that now, the Melbourne-born driver is slowly reaching Norris’ level. Soon he will start putting up fights against him. Therefore, McLaren is the best place for Piastri to flourish.
Oscar Piastri is too good to be a second driver
Red Bull already has an undisputed number-one F1 driver in Max Verstappen. Malm believes that it wouldn’t be wise for Piastri to step up and ‘get burned against someone like Verstappen‘ at such a young stage in his career.
Malm said, “I also think Oscar might be a bit too good for Red Bull to put in as the second driver. Because, I think they like having a sort of subservient number 2. And I think Piastri is too good to settle for that role.”
According to the British journalist, a driver who has the capacity of bringing in regular podiums but won’t challenge Verstappen, is a much better choice for Red Bull. Sergio Perez fits this role perfectly, and therefore Malm believes that he is a much better choice for Red Bull than Piastri.
With McLaren improving significantly in the last few races, Piastri is slowly showing his true potential. He claimed his first-ever F1 top three finish during the Belgian GP Sprint race. If McLaren manages to keep up their development, Piastri will only get better with the team.
McLaren’s big dreams
Under the leadership of Zak Brown, McLaren has been dreaming of becoming title contenders for quite some time. However, they haven’t managed to be consistent enough to reach that goal so far.
The papaya outfit has managed to hold on to Lando Norris by promising him a competitive car by 2025. Brown has taken various major steps to help McLaren realize their dream, ranging from investing in a new wind tunnel facility to hiring big-shot engineers with decorated CVs.
If McLaren does indeed manage to become a team capable of fighting for the title, along with Norris, Piastri might also become a title contender.
