Even before his Formula 1 debut, Oscar Piastri had the motorsport world buzzing, with many intrigued by the potential of the 22-year-old. Upon hitting the grid, his talent became evident, although he faced retirement in his first race at the Bahrain GP. Despite this setback, the Melbourne-born driver has since notched seven top-ten finishes, including a standout third place at the Japanese Grand Prix. Piastri’s remarkable performances have led to a contract extension with the Woking-based team, now keeping him on board until 2026. This news is certain to have a significant impact, particularly among top teams and their driver pairings. Former F1 star Ralf Schumacher praises the Aussie for what he has done for McLaren, as per Grand PX news.
With each passing race, McLaren’s driver duo is demonstrating their excellent synchronization. To illustrate further, Oscar Piastri’s remarkable recovery from an early exit at the Singapore GP, where he climbed ten positions to secure points, showcases the impressive level of competition within the team.
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
Piastri’s contribution, along with pushing his teammate Lando Norris to the limit, has prompted Lando Norris to issue a concise yet powerful warning about McLaren’s strength to rivals like Red Bull, Mercedes, and Ferrari. In response to a question from an F1 YouTube channel about the strength of McLaren’s driver lineup, Norris emphatically declared it as “the strongest.”
The McLaren drivers’ strong bond and mutual admiration for each other’s performances are in stark contrast to other pairings like Hamilton-Russell, Verstappen-Perez, and Sainz-Leclerc. In those cases, smooth teamwork has been less evident. Norris and Piastri’s fiery warning serves as a potential wake-up call for their competitors. And this dynamic isn’t only an internal thing but is also visible to the veterans of the sport.
Ralf Schumacher hails Oscar Piastri’s contribution to the Mclaren Dynamics
Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s strong performances have propelled McLaren to fifth place with 172 points. While Norris leads in points, Piastri’s significant contribution of 57 points, marked by his debut season podium and race awareness, has garnered praise. As per Grand Px News, former Formula 1 driver Ralf Schumacher praised Oscar Piastri’s contributions. Schumacher also highlighted the strength of the McLaren driver lineup.
He said, “McLaren certainly has the best driver pairing for the future. Oscar is a super talent. It’s hard enough to win Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships. But he did them in his first year. That is extraordinary. He is now doing the same thing in Formula 1. We are going to hear a lot about him.”
Although there were two other debutants in this season’s Formula 1, none made the impact quite like Oscar Piastri. His exceptional rookie season has led to comparisons with legends like Michael Schumacher.
Oscar Piastri gets compared to champions
Being compared to Formula 1 veterans and greats in his debut season might be surreal. Especially when it comes from someone as close as a teammate. However, when comparisons come from someone who has observed you up close, knows your strengths, and understands your potential, the review takes on an extra layer of significance.
During his conversation with F1 insider. Piastri’s manager, and ex-Red Bull driver Mark Webber who is well-acquainted with the intricacies of the sport, drew parallels between Piastri and Michael Schumacher. As reported by Yahoo, he said, “I only knew I wasn’t good enough to win championships when I met Oscar. Despite all his talent, when it comes to his way of always wanting to get better and never resting on his laurels, he reminds me a lot of Michael Schumacher.”
Driver of the day too. You guys 🧡 pic.twitter.com/pgNXgt260M
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) September 24, 2023
Apart from Mark Webber’s commendation, McLaren’s team boss Andrea Stella, known for his close collaborations with Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso, has openly expressed his admiration for Oscar Piastri, characterizing him as an elite-level driver. He also believes that Piastri possesses qualities reminiscent of both Schumacher and Alonso.
Carrying his emotions after Piastri’s brilliant Japanese Gp qualifying effort on Saturday, Stella said “I have to say he (Piastri) surprised me at Suzuka, especially on Saturday. This is not the first time he has performed well in qualifying, but this time it was at Suzuka, a very technical circuit where it is very difficult to string laps together.”
With time, Piastri’s trajectory in motorsports appears to be heading towards excellence. If he maintains his current stellar performance, he might be the one to end McLaren’s victory drought soon.
