Oscar Piastri may be the youngest and least experienced among the three title protagonists this season, but he clearly has been the most consistent which has led him to stand atop the Formula 1 drivers’ championship for the last three races.
Four wins and two more podiums in seven races has helped the Australian outscore the two championship contenders of last season — Max Verstappen and Lando Norris, both of whom trail the 24-year-old from Melbourne.
Though Verstappen got the better of Piastri with a stupendous move at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix last Sunday, it had been the other way around in the previous races. And when it comes to the Piastri-Norris battle, the youngster has simply been better in race craft and pace to win four races to the Briton’s lone win at the season opener in Australia.
“Oscar has been very impressive in the way he has bounced back,” former Formula 1 driver David Coulthard said over a call from Monaco which will host the next Grand Prix this Sunday.
“Lando had the upper hand on him last year, but it really looks as if Oscar, aided by my old teammate Mark Webner (Piastri’s manager) who has a lot of experience of going toe-to-toe with Sebastian Vettel. I really feel that he’s stepped up the most from last year when he was a little bit in the shadow of Lando and outright performance. But he’s picked that up. He’s now leading the world championship.”
{{/usCountry}}“Lando had the upper hand on him last year, but it really looks as if Oscar, aided by my old teammate Mark Webner (Piastri’s manager) who has a lot of experience of going toe-to-toe with Sebastian Vettel. I really feel that he’s stepped up the most from last year when he was a little bit in the shadow of Lando and outright performance. But he’s picked that up. He’s now leading the world championship.”
{{/usCountry}}On an average, Piastri has been ahead by a tenth or two ahead of Norris in qualifying in the same machinery which is enough to prove the difference between the winner and others in F1. Coulthard, who raced in 247 Grands Prix from 1994 to 2008, said that Piastri has been able to exploit and maximise the performance of his car to the hilt and take the fight to his much-experienced colleagues.
“Oscar has worked on his pace. He’s understood the combination of what it takes to make it work. He’s still relatively inexperienced in Formula 1 terms. I am surprised that Lando has, let’s say, not looked as settled. He is mature enough in his career right now and I admire the fact that they’re very open to discuss their concerns, challenges and mental health,” two-time Monaco GP winner Coulthard said in a call facilitated by FanCode, the official broadcaster of F1 in India.
“That’s where Mark probably helps Oscar as a driver. He knows how to manage the pace of a season, how to manage the pace of a Grand Prix weekend, because it’s tiring. It’s for those two drivers to slug it out and so far you’ve got to say it’s advantage Oscar.”
Webber raced in F1 from 2002 to 2013, entering 2017 GPs, winning nine.
Coulthard, who raced for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull, is thrilled at the idea of two of his former teams fighting for the championships, especially praising four-time world champion Verstappen, calling him “the driver of this generation”.
“Formula 1 is in a great place right now. It’s really difficult at the pinnacle. The margin between the fastest and the slowest time is smaller than it’s ever been in the history of the sport. In that, Max has been phenomenal and how he sees controls the race. Imola for me was a confirmation why he is the world champion,” said the 54-year-old Scot.
“You don’t have to be a Max Verstappen fan to be impressed with his performance. He is a phenomenon, an exceptional Grand Prix driver. And away from the paddock, he’s actually a very grounded and sincere guy. Obviously, on the racetrack, he’s uncompromising. He wants to win.”