From team wars to team drama, here is how Oscar Piastri has shaped up against Lando Norris.
Now a Grand Prix winner, in the same year that Lando Norris became a Grand Prix winner, Oscar Piastri has continued to show that he is not here to play second fiddle to Lando Norris. Norris has been McLaren’s shining star since his debut in 2019. And since Piastri’s own debut in 2023, he has brought some competition within the McLaren team.
Oscar Piastri has been teammates with Lando Norris at McLaren since he made his Formula One debut in 2023. His introduction into F1 was far from quiet for more than one reason. Piastri joined the junior series ‘Hall of Fame’ after winning the F2 title in 2021. Piastri’s name joined the likes of Nico Rosberg, Lewis Hamilton, Nico Hülkenberg, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell, as the only drivers to win the GP2/F2 title in their rookie seasons.
After winning the 2021 F1 title on his first try, it was clear he was a talent who deserved a shot at F1. However, with such high demand in the F1 driver market, he had to sit out the 2022 season. Instead, he carried out test/reserve driver roles, trying to secure a contract for the future.
2022: A fight for the Aussie
Oscar Piastri’s introduction was messy, to say the least.
Alpine appointed the Australian, who had been part of their academy since 2020, as the F1 team’s test and reserve driver for the 2022 season. As part of an agreement between Alpine and McLaren, McLaren also appointed Piastri as their reserve driver. At that point in time, no one knew that this agreement would later cause some trouble.”
After speculations that he would join Williams in 2023 on loan from Alpine, the French team unexpectedly had an open seat. This came after then Aston Martin driver Sebastian Vettel announced his retirement from Formula 1 in early 2022. A chain reaction that would wreck the driver market soon followed. Alpine driver Fernando Alonso unexpectedly announced that he would be driving for Aston Martin for the 2023 season.
As a result of this, Alpine announced that they had promoted their test and reserve driver Oscar Piastri to be their F1 driver alongside Esteban Ocon for the 2023 season. Oscar Piastri remained quiet on the matter, which had many speculating on the credibility of the Alpine’s official announcement.
A few hours later, Piastri took to Twitter (now known as X) to announce that he had in fact not signed a deal with Alpine for the 2023 season. The drama did not end there though.
I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year. This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) August 2, 2022
The Alpine team principal at the time, Otmar Szafnauer criticised Piastri, saying that he expected loyalty from the former academy driver. Otmar also threatened to take the contract matters to court.
True to his word, there was a hearing at the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board (CRB) on 29 August 2022. Had Alpine won the case, Piastri would have been expected to carry out his contract obligations and drive for Alpine in the 2023 season. The other option would be for Alpine to seek a compensation fee from any other teams interested in the Australian. However, Alpine lost the case, and Piastri was free to drive for another team.
By September, McLaren announced that they had promoted Oscar Piastri from reserve driver to drive alongside Lando Norris in their F1 team in the 2023 season, replacing Daniel Ricciardo.
2023: A victorious debut season
Oscar Piastri had an incredible junior career, including a spectacular rookie season in F2 where he won the title. As a result, the Aussie was highly sought after, ie McLaren and Alpine’s squabble in 2022.
After a dramatic introduction into F1, Oscar Piastri made his F1 debut at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix. He was running in P8 during the race but unfortunately had to retire due to electrical issues.
McLaren had a difficult start to the season, so, Piastri would prove his worth as the season went on, and McLaren did well in terms of development. Poetically, his first F1 points came at home, at the Australian GP where he finished in P8.
As the season went on, the McLaren team went on an upward trajectory in terms of development. As a result, McLaren’s strong pairing was able to show their potential more. Lando Norris continued to prove why the Papaya team had so much faith in him and Oscar Piastri was mostly always close to his teammate.
Since joining F1, Piastri demonstrated good race craft alongside cool composure and level-headedness that earned him high praise. If there is a struggle that Piastri was unable to overcome, it was regarding tyre management. His tyre management was poor, which often affected his race results. Another struggle for Piastri was in fact not his fault, but rather, the team’s. Since his debut, Piastri has had unfavourable strategies, especially in comparison to his teammate Norris.
However, his brilliant driving earned him merits. He won a sprint race in his debut season. This was at the Qatar GP, where he claimed pole for the Sprint, and went on to win it. His first victory to come in his rookie season, in an era of F1 that was not competitive, was a true testament to the talent that is Oscar Piastri.
What was also notable was that he earned a victory in F1 before Lando Norris, who has been in the sport since 2019. This showed that Piastri was not going to go easy on Norris. The Australian would give him competition, which is a positive for Norris’ development and a positive for McLaren as a whole.
Piastri finished P9 in the Drivers’ Championship, with 97 points. His teammate Norris was P6, with 205 points.
Piastri’s rookie season is considered one of the best rookie seasons in modern F1.
2024 so far: A Grand Prix winner
Oscar Piastri started the 2024 season still showing great potential. Much similar to 2023, he was a good teammate to Norris, complying with team orders whenever asked to. However, he still hadn’t improved on his tyre management. And on some occasions was dealt a bad hand with bad strategies from McLaren.
“Sometimes Oscar Piastri ends up behind Lando Norris because of team strategy, sometimes it’s other reasons. I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet, and I expect Piastri to produce the same quality driving that Lando does.
“Norris is ahead of him in his driving, so he will be prioritised. The only way Piastri can change that is by beating Lando himself consistently and making the team change their priorities. Red Bull would never prioritise Sergio Perez over Max Verstappen, and it’s the same situation at McLaren.” – Former F1 World Drivers’ Championship winner Jacques Villeneuve speaking to Instant Casino.
By round 13 of 24, another dream would be brought to life in Formula 1. On his 35th career Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri won the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix. He started the race in P2. On race day, he had a brilliant start, taking the lead from his teammate who tussled with Red Bull‘s Max Verstappen.
As he always has, Piastri maintained a cool head, driving with composure in the lead. From the start, he had practically earned the race win. However, that was nearly taken from him by a questionable strategy choice by McLaren. In defence of a non-existent threat to their 1-2, McLaren pitted Norris before the Aussie, Norris thus undercutting Piastri. This allowed Norris to take the lead of the race. From lap 45 when Norris pitted, he was instructed to give the place back to Piastri. However, the Brit refused to comply until he eventually slowed down at the start-finish straight on lap 68. Piastri went on to cross the line first for his maiden F1 victory.
All race long, Piastri had good tyre management and drove well from the get-go, earning his first win. Even whilst his team went back and forth with Norris on the radio during the final stint, Piastri still kept a cool head and awaited his moment.
If there is a race that has ever shown the type of driver Oscar Piastri is, it was the 2024 Hungarian Grand Prix. It showed his composure and maturity, but also displayed his maturity when it came to where he has come from in his tyre management journey. A Grand Prix win is a great confidence boost. There are 11 races to go this season. Piastri is yet to show his full potential, and may just inch closer to it as the season progresses.
