Despite having an impeccable junior racing record, Oscar Piastri has often come up short against his more experienced teammate, Lando Norris. There are a few areas where the Aussie always seems to be one step behind the Briton. Red Bull’s sim racing driver, Jarno Opmeer has highlighted one such area where the 23-year-old can improve.
Speaking on the F1 Nation podcast, Opmeer highlighted how he thought Piastri would be able to pass the Ferrari and Red Bull ahead of him at the Dutch GP. However, as the race progressed, it was clear he would not be able to even pass Charles Leclerc in third. Using this as an example, the Dutch sim racer highlighted the Australian needs to improve his tire management.
He said, “I think something Piastri struggles with ever since he started in F1, is tire management, compared to Lando at least… In the race, he clearly lacks compared to Lando, especially on tracks that have got decently high deg.”
Piastri will need to improve his tire management as quickly as possible ahead of the upcoming races. Mainly because the upcoming circuits could have high tire wear which will hurt his races and the team’s pursuit of the championship.
Red Bull’s sim racer highlighted how the upcoming races in Baku and Singapore are extremely demanding in terms of tire wear. While both tracks do not traditionally cause a lot of degradation, the hotter conditions at both venues often cause tires to overheat a lot, affecting several drivers’ tire strategies.
Piastri needs to polish himself further
Even last year, Piastri did not have the best of times at the Singapore GP. If the #81 driver is not able to manage his tires better, he could face a difficult time in Baku and Singapore. Apart from the races, he also needs to improve his pace over one lap with Norris getting the better of him in qualifying.
So far in the 15 races in the season, Norris has out-qualified his teammate 13 times. It was in Saudi Arabia and Monaco where Piastri beat the Briton on a one-lap pace. Similarly, the young Australian has been ahead of his teammate in races only on five occasions.
Still, relative to his rookie season, Piastri’s race pace has improved. In 2024, he has been a lot closer and even at par with Norris at multiple races including the Hungarian GP—where he won his maiden Grand Prix.
