Oscar Piastri has praised by Red Bull’s Helmut Marko who quickly added that the young Aussie is still not as good as Max Verstappen.

Marko, the man at the head of Red Bull’s driver programme, has made a career of bringing young drivers in F1 and, in Piastri, he likes what he’s seen.

Helmut Marko has given Oscar Piastri his vote of confidence, but he’s ‘not yet’ on par with Max Verstappen

Piastri entered Formula 1 with McLaren at the start of the 2023 season following an impressive junior career that netted three championship wins in as many years.

He joined McLaren in place of countryman Daniel Ricciardo, who struggled during his two years with the Woking squad.

It was a strong show of faith and support in Piastri, as the team battled Alpine for his services through the Contract Recognition Board but also paid out Ricciardo, who still had a year to run on his contract.

That faith has been repaid in spades already, with five wins to date in 2026 and seven in total. Piastri heads the Drivers’ Championship standings by 10 points over teammate Lando Norris in only his third season in F1.

In that time, the 24-year-old has developed a reputation for being unflappable both in and out of the car, with few mistakes to his name.

“Piastri learns very quickly,” Marko told ServusTV.

“He prepares well and is tough in the decisive moments, while Lando Norris is more of a trial-and-error player and doesn’t display the same level of consistency.

“He’s a naturally cool-headed analyst,” he added. “Very little unsettles him. But he’s not yet at Max’s level.”

In 55 starts, Piastri has amassed seven race wins and currently enjoys a run of points-paying results that stretches back to last year’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

He’s seen the chequered flag in every event since the 2023 United States Grand Prix, and was the only driver to complete every racing lap last season.

By contrast, Verstappen, who was only 17 when he made his F1 debut, had won only twice in his first 55 races in F1 – though his early years were spent during an era of Mercedes’ domination.

The Dutchman has since emerged as the benchmark driver on the current grid, with Piastri and Norris proving his greatest rivals this season.

Verstappen sits third in the Drivers’ standings, 49 points short of Piastri’s tally after nine races.

The four-time World Championship has played down his chances of another title this year, suggesting McLaren’s advantage will see the trophy go to one of the two Woking-based drivers.

Piastri, however, remains wary of the threat Verstappen poses, especially given Red Bull is able to focus its efforts on his charge alone.

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“I mean, it helps in some situations,” Piastri said of Verstappen being Red Bull’s only title contender.

“You don’t have to balance both of the strategies; you can put all the attention on Max, but at the same time, Lando and I do gain something from having each other pushing.

“Max is obviously very experienced and very talented,” he added.

“But I do think that Lando and I have found some amount of lap-time by having a competitive team-mate, but that of course comes with its challenges as well.

“Ultimately, we want to be fighting for a championship, beating everyone on the grid, and if you’ve got someone there pushing you, then whilst it gives you some challenges as a team and as a driver, it also increases your level, which is ultimately what you want.”

McLaren boss Zak Brown has stated that both Piastri and Norris will be given a clear shot at the championship, with no team orders set to be issued until one of the pair is mathematically out of contention.

“If you had a second driver that wasn’t competing for the championship, then I get it; sacrifice [Yuki] Tsunoda’s qualifying because he’s giving Max a tow or whatever,” he told PlanetF1.com.

“I get compromising the second car at Red Bull because it’s not competing for the Drivers’ Championship, so it’s an easy decision to make.

“But when you’ve got two drivers first and second in the championship and are separated by less than one second place finish, how do you possibly even consider standing one down into a supporting role?

“There’s just no way we will.”

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