Martin Brundle compares Oscar Piastri to 51-win F1 legend after witnessing his ‘calm’ Bahrain Grand Prix win

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is quickly proving that he’s not letting his early setback at the start of the 2025 Formula 1 season impact his championship challenge.

The Bahrain Grand Prix was another example of why Lando Norris and Max Verstappen should be so concerned about Oscar Piastri this year.

McLaren have the fastest and most consistent car on the grid after making impressive strides forward over the winter break.

They’ve built on the constructors’ championship they won last season and immediately asserted their dominance over the rest of the field, although there’s a key difference between Piastri and Norris’ approaches so far in 2025.

Norris is finding McLaren’s 2025 car really difficult to drive, which isn’t a problem that Piastri is complaining about publicly.

He had a distinct advantage over his more experienced teammate in qualifying, braking earlier but getting on the power much sooner, which appears to suit the MCL39’s strongest attributes.

Jacques Villeneuve thinks Norris is cracking under pressure, while Piastri doesn’t appear to be concerned about anything once he gets behind the wheel of his car.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

Martin Brundle compares Oscar Piastri to Alain Prost after Bahrain Grand Prix win

Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle was writing in his column after the race in Bahrain, and was full of praise for the Australian.

He explained: “Bahrain gave us a great race once again, and positioned McLaren’s Oscar Piastri as potentially the favourite for this year’s world championship.

“Piastri has largely recovered the points deficit from his unfortunate excursion, and lengthy challenge in getting his car off the wet grass, in his hometown race in Melbourne, and he continues to add a calm confidence to his considerable speed.

“From the outside, it’s as if his pulse is a flat line at all times, and I can think of few drivers who could or can control their emotions and mind like that. Alain Prost, ‘the professor’, would be one.”

Prost won 51 Grand Prix in his career, and four world championships.

Three of those titles came racing for McLaren, and Piastri would love to emulate Prost’s achievements.

However, Prost had to fight against the great Ayrton Senna as his teammate to win in 1989; Norris hasn’t yet proved to be anywhere near as ruthless as the legendary Brazilian.

READ MORE: All to know about Alain Prost including Ayrton Senna rivalry and failed F1 team

Oscar Piastri heralds ‘incredible weekend’ as he closes the gap to Lando Norris

Piastri is now just three points behind Norris in the drivers’ championship, and his mistake at the Australian Grand Prix has nearly been eradicated.

McLaren’s main objective is to win the constructors’ championship, and while it’s way too soon to say that they’ve wrapped up that title, they already have a significant advantage.

Talking in his official press conference after the Grand Prix, Piastri explained: “It’s been an incredible weekend, starting with qualifying yesterday, and it was nice to finish the job in style today.

“I can’t thank the team enough for the car they’ve given us – it was pretty handy out there!

“I’m very proud of what I’ve done this weekend and proud to do it here in Bahrain as well. It’s obviously a very important race for us, given our ownership.

“It’s never been a track that’s been kind to us, so it’s great to finally get the first win for the team in Bahrain.”

McLaren staff have noticed a key change in Piastri this year, and he has the inner focus now to win a championship.

Norris has the pace to beat Piastri, but he needs to quickly find a way to extract the car’s maximum potential as his teammate appears to have found the key to driving the MCL39.