Oscar Piastri was already one of the most promising young talents of his generation when he was made to sit out a season of racing after winning the Formula 2 championship in 2021.
But after being poached by McLaren and given the chance to start his Formula 1 career last season, Piastri showed exactly why his new team were so eager to acquire his talents, as his rookie campaign was perhaps among the most outstanding of the last two decades.With multiple podium finishes and even a sprint race victory in Qatar, Piastri already had the tools in place to help McLaren push towards the front of the field in 2024 alongside team mate Lando Norris. And over the first 14 rounds of the season, Piastri has done exactly that.
Although McLaren were not quite as far up the grid as they might have hoped at the start of the season, Piastri was remarkably consistent in the opening rounds. Especially in qualifying, where he secured eight top six starts in the opening nine rounds of the championship. His races were solid, but he was perhaps not quite reaching the same level as his Saturdays, as evidenced by his mid-race mistakes in Melbourne and Suzuka.
He also couldn’t quite seem to match Norris’ pace early on in the season, finishing behind his team mate in six of the first seven rounds. But while luck seemed to smile on Norris, Piastri was not afforded that same luxury. While the timing of the Safety Car in Miami worked out perfectly for Norris, Piastri, who had been running second, dropped to fourth as a result, then missed out on scoring any points at all after being hit by Carlos Sainz Jnr at the hairpin.
More misfortune followed in Imola, where he qualified second but was dropped to fifth on the grid for impeding Kevin Magnussen in qualifying in an incident that was solely his team’s fault. He was just 0.15s away from pole in Monaco which would have almost certainly secured him victory, but was forced to spend all 78 laps staring at Charles Leclerc’s rear wing on his way to second.
His only truly underwhelming performance came in Spain. While Norris took pole, Piastri was down in tenth after screwing up his only push lap attempt in Q3. From there, while his team mate finished behind Verstappen in second, Piastri climbed only to seventh, half a minute behind the other McLaren at the end of his worst weekend of the season.
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But after Spain, with McLaren now regular race win contenders, Piastri found the best form of his still-young career so far. He just missed out on victory in Austria after Norris and Verstappen collided, ruing that the stewards had deleted his best time in Q3 in contentious circumstances – something he still remains disgusted about. He should have had a better result than fourth the next weekend at Silverstone, but McLaren’s failure to bring him in for intermediates behind Norris ended any hopes he had of fighting for victory.
Oscar Piastri
| Best | Worst | |
|---|---|---|
| GP start | 2 (x2) | 8 |
| GP finish | 1 | 13 |
| Points | 167 | |
Finally, in Hungary, he received his reward for dealing with all the misfortune. Despite losing pole position to his team mate, Piastri charged by Norris into the lead of the race at the start and looked entirely comfortable out front – until McLaren allowed Norris to jump ahead of him with an earlier final stop. Despite several nervous laps, Norris eventually respected team orders to allow Piastri back into the lead, allowing the 23-year-old to become the eighth-youngest grand prix winner in history. His later revelation that he had been contending with a fractured rib at the time only made his triumph more impressive in hindsight.
Piastri headed into the summer break with another very strong showing in Spa. Although he was just pipped by Norris in qualifying, Piastri got ahead of his team mate into La Source, then showed formidable pace in the race to catch and pass Leclerc to finish third behind the two Mercedes – only to be moved up to second after Russell’s disqualification.
Although Norris has been the higher-placed McLaren driver for the bulk of the season, even he admits that he has not yet earned preferential status for the rest of the year over Piastri. As both McLaren drivers look to reel in Red Bull in the constructors’ championship, it will be fascinating to see whether Piastri is still placed behind his team mate after the chequered flag falls in Abu Dhabi.
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Formula 1
- Leclerc quickest in F1’s post-season, Antonelli fifth after reduced day
- Ferrari confirms it will supply power units to Andretti for 2026 F1 entry
- Sainz spent final laps at Ferrari preparing for first Williams test
- 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend F1 driver ratings
- Three F1 drivers to make early start with new teams in Yas Marina test on Tuesday
Jere (@jerejj)
15th August 2024, 8:15
So Russell higher than Piastri, after all.
BasCB (@bascb)
15th August 2024, 10:36
Interesting.
Ben
15th August 2024, 10:41
Criminal. I suspect a little bit of the old click-bait is at play in the slow off season…
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th August 2024, 11:32
Yes, was thinking the same, I’m certainly not a hamilton fanatic, but 8th to 3rd seems too much difference between them for what they showed this season, with russell 3rd hamilton should’ve been 5th or something like that.
I’m guessing overall norris is the most deserving to be in 2nd place, so I have no complains about that if (as likely) that happens.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th August 2024, 11:33
complaints*
Simon
15th August 2024, 18:05
@jerejj
Thank you, Captain Obvious
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
15th August 2024, 8:15
I feel like 4th is a little generous for Oscar and he’s getting some credit for his lack of experience and the expectations being lower due to that, compared to some of the other drivers in top teams. When you look at the stats, he is still a fair way behind Norris overall. He’s 32 points behind in the standings, and this would be 62 or 55 points if not for the Norris/Verstappen collision in Austria. In teammate head-to-heads he’s 11-3 down in qualy and 9-5 down in races. That’s despite all the errors and bad strategy calls Lando has suffered. Ok, Oscar has had his own misfortunes too as detailed in the article, but I still feel this is giving him a large benefit of the doubt.
If experience and expectation are factors in the rankings then fair enough, but I thought we were ranking on pure performance, and based on that I think I’d have him a few places further down.
Harrywej
15th August 2024, 8:46
Oscar was fundamentally faster at Miami, Imola, Canada and Great Britain over the qualifying or race and should’ve finished ahead of Lando if not for McLaren errors, lack of upgrades or unfavourable strategy, he’s only been truly behind at Spain and China, he would be ahead of Lando by a dozen points even if max didn’t crash into him at Austria
roadrunner (@roadrunner)
15th August 2024, 12:29
Piastri was not faster in any race race you mentioned. Neither in Miami, Imola, Canada or Great Britain. How did you come to that conclusion?
In Miami, once in free, air Norris was way faster than anybody else, but it’s difficult to judge because he had the upgraded car.
In Imola, again, in the race Norris was fastest of all, taking the fight to Verstappen with Piastri lacking a bit of pace, even in clear air.
In Canada when the safety car came out, Norris had a 10 second lead, because he was, yet again, fastest of all. After that it was pretty much even.
In Great Britain, they were very close in race pace until the last pit stop but crucially with Norris in front. From then on Piastri was clearly fastest, but one could argue that was only the case because he called the right tires.
Qualifying is a different story, but in the end it’s always Norris who’s been fastest in the races and despite of some bad starts and strategy calls also finished ahead.
Zac Norris
16th August 2024, 9:49
Thanks Lando.
Todfod (@todfod)
16th August 2024, 14:28
I agree. I would rate Charles higher than Oscar this season, even though Charles started the season with a relative slump to Sainz.
Oscar had a few strong performances, but she should have been challenging for the win every weekend since Miami, just like Norris has been.
clean-air King
15th August 2024, 8:16
Piastri, the clean-air king
Mayrton
15th August 2024, 12:12
Good point. Vettel was like that as well. Did deliver him some titles, so not all hope is lost for Piastri. And he has the fastest car of the field. Can’t be long before people start screaming about dominance.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
15th August 2024, 9:58
I think this is one place higher than I would have him. I rate Oscar very highly but I often feel that given he’s seen as a cool customer who will be around for the long haul that he is given favourable reviews for his potential, and any mistakes are forgiven due to lack of experience. That’s understandable, and going up against a great driver in Norris is challenging, but I don’t think we should overlook his faults.
Lando is 11-3 up in quali. That’s equal 3rd best on the grid and Oscar is one the receiving end of Hulk-KMag, Bottas-Zhou numbers. That needs some work.
In races, it’s 9-5 in Lando’s favour. Of the 5 that Oscar finished ahead – in Saudi Lando tried an alternative strategy, Monaco was a procession, Austria Lando was ahead until the 2nd last lap contact, in Hungary there was team orders and in Belgium Norris was timid at the start. That’s not to say he didn’t drive well in these and other races but if I look at it ruthlessly, Norris still has him well covered. Norris is an exceptional driver, and I think the toughest to face other than Max, but for 4th in the ranking I’m expecting a few more high points.
Looking at maximising the opportunities – Lando has been 2nd 5 times to Oscar’s 3. Of those 5 times, Oscar has been ahead once in Hungary, but his other results were 8th, 4th, 5th and 7th. So again, there’s room for improvement there.
I don’t want this comment to come across as super negative. Winning in Hungary with a broken rib is special. In his last few races he looks to be capable of leading races, is strong wheel to wheel and clearly has the respect of the drivers around him. However, I’ve seen a lot of comments in the past months that infer he’s doing a perfect job, rather than merely a very good one. If race management was the focus for this year, quali needs to be for next year. Once quali is sorted, this guy will be at the very top and for a long time.
MichaelN
15th August 2024, 11:10
Agreed, the numbers are clearly in Norris favour still.
Piastri will have done almost 50 races by the end of the year, and this rookie argument is already wearing thin. He’ll want to push those numbers closer to 50/50 by the end of the season, or risk becoming their second fiddle if McLaren manage to start the next season strong.
Taking him ahead of Leclerc and Sainz is a bit much based on his actual results.
Rhys Lloyd (@justrhysism)
16th August 2024, 4:08
Franz Tost said in a BTG interview that it takes around 3 full seasons to get up to speed in F1. It might only for 2-2.5 with the increased number of races—but he is still well within the learning phase of his career.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th August 2024, 11:36
Generally agree, one thing I disagree with is hungary: there was the team order, yes, but piastri shouldn’t have been second to begin with, if not for the fact mclaren pitted norris first, gifting him the win if they hadn’t then made that team order.
RBAlonso (@rbalonso)
15th August 2024, 15:20
Yeah my overriding feeling in Hungary is that Oscar’s pace in the final stages, with the sore rib, fell away a little. If Norris had the gumption to let him straight past and then attacked I think Norris would, probably, have won. Obviously, the time gain from the pit stop undercut is reflected in that but if we go from when they leave the pits at the final stops I think Norris would have had him. A bit like Russell-Hamilton in Spa, we’ll never truly know so it has to be measured as honours even rather than a point for either driver pace wise.
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th August 2024, 11:38
So far norris is definitely better in terms of speed, though piastri is on a good trend lately, and piastri was better in the starts, which is norris’ weakness.
Tristan
15th August 2024, 11:31
I’m a bit confused by the comments, all saying he did worse than Norris, and yeah, he’s ranked behind Norris.
How about make some compelling arguments for why he should be behind Sainz or Leclerc in comparison?
Tristan
15th August 2024, 11:32
Or Hamilton…
Esploratore (@esploratore1)
15th August 2024, 11:41
At the very least, ferrari has clearly been far worse than mclaren this year so far, so the fact he’s fighting leclerc and sainz in points is not that impressive, sainz even missed a race.
I don’t think it’s wrong to suggest that one or both ferrari drivers could’ve been ahead of him.
Tristan
15th August 2024, 12:01
Ferrari have fallen back as the year progresses, but they started the year strong. Points has little to do with driver ratings.
Keith Campbell (@keithedin)
15th August 2024, 14:06
Comparison to your teammate is the most true comparison we can have between F1, so that’s the main reasons the arguments are in comparison to Norris, though even this comparison can be skewed by a lot of factors, such as one driver getting upgrades before the other etc. But to me it also gives an indication of how far a driver is from the ultimate pace of the car. If I see one driver is say 2-3 tenths away from their teammate, then that means they are at a minimum 2-3 tenths away from the ultimate pace.
Piastri has closed the gap in race pace this year, but there have still been occasions where he clearly doesn’t have the same pace as Norris. So, unless you believe Norris is considerably faster than the other drivers you mentioned, it stands to reason that Piastri would be a step down from them. We also have other data points to consider, such as the comparison between Norris and Sainz when they were at McLaren, where I think most would agree Sainz compared more favourably towards Norris than Piastri has. I expect Norris has improved more than Sainz since then, but it is still a consideration.
Piastri is doing well this season no doubt, and I look forward to see what he can do in the second half of the season and beyond, but at this point I probably wouldn’t have put him above the Ferrari drivers at least.
Rhys Lloyd (@justrhysism)
16th August 2024, 4:13
You’re comparing an inexperienced Norris vs Sainz and an experienced Norris vs Piastri.
Apples and oranges.
Modern Norris is one of the best on the grid. And is a dark-arts master of the tyres. Piastri—who is still very much in his learning phase—is yet to figure out how to maximise the tyres; but he’s slowly getting there.
DB-C90 (@dbradock)
15th August 2024, 11:44
Pretty fair assessments so far and there’s always going to be a few toss ups.
I’d not have complained if he and Russell were reversed, and there’s a few others that might easily been one up or 1 down from their rating but overall pretty fair.
It’ll be interesting though to see how someone like Oscar fares in the second half of the season. He’s definitely been on an upward trend, but it’s so easy to see good talent level out. I hope he doesn’t but it’s pretty common.
Edvaldo
15th August 2024, 13:37
Great improvement from his first year. The boy is a talent.
And he’ll be showing Norris the way soon, no doubt about that. His ceiling is much higher.
Diez Cilindros (@diezcilindros)
15th August 2024, 18:12
Just 4 podiums with probably the best car since round 6. Defeated in both quali and race by his teammate. He is the 5th driver in terms of average quali place and average race finish place, and also P5 in points-per-race (i.e. correcting Sainz’s absence). I mean, how on Earth is Piastri ahead of Carlos Sainz in this ranking if, with a better car, he’s tied with him?
Given Red Bull has been the only superior car for a few rounds, and Pérez has been absolutely ludicrous, I think a driver ranked as the 4th best should be 3rd in the standings, at least ahead of both Ferraris in the championship and much closer to his teammate in the intra-team battles.
Leo B
16th August 2024, 17:51
I would never rank Piastri below Russell. That is a blatant disparity.
Below Norris? Perhaps. Just perhaps. On a good day for Norris and a bad day for Piastri.