McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is quickly become one of the most popular drivers in Formula 1.
After just two seasons, Oscar Piastri has proven that he’s not just a race-winning driver, but capable of going wheel-to-wheel with some of the greatest drivers in the sport’s history.
Max Verstappen apologised to Piastri after hitting his McLaren going into the opening corner of the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
While the Australian should have potentially done more to avoid the collision considering what was at stake in the Constructors’ Championship that day, it also showed he was not going to jump out of the way of other drivers.
Aside from being supremely talented, Piastri is quickly becoming a fan favourite due to his dry sense of humour.
A clip of Piastri watching a demonstration that went wrong before last year’s Austrian Grand Prix went viral.
Piastri has already been compared to Kimi Raikkonen, adopting his Ice Man moniker as the young Australian never appears to be flustered.
During the off-season, Piastri returned home and was interviewed on 7Plus during Australia’s most recent Test match against India.
He recalled one moment during his first year as a McLaren driver when the whole team turned against him, and it had something to do with that summer’s cricket in England.
Oscar Piastri jokes McLaren turned against him during last year’s Ashes series
Piastri was asked about the Ashes and the rivalry within the McLaren team and said: “Well, the whole team is English, pretty much.
“So, it’s pretty much one against the whole team which is fine because we keep winning!
“So hopefully we can do that again. It was good fun through last year at the Ashes and a lot of the boys, a lot of the mechanics in the garage were giving us some stick whenever we had a bad day and we were giving it back.”
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Norris and Piastri have played cricket together as part of a feature for Sky Sports F1, with the Australian the more experienced batsman.
Both countries are extremely competitive when it comes to the Ashes, with Piastri’s countrymen retaining the urn after drawing the latest series 2-2.
The next Ashes series takes place in Australia next winter, just in time for the next Formula 1 winter break.
Oscar Piastri will want to keep McLaren on his side going into the 2025 season
Piastri has admitted that 2024 was very special for McLaren but will hope it can get even better next year.
The 23-year-old finished fourth in the Drivers’ Championship, behind Norris, Charles Leclerc and Verstappen.
He showed glimpses – particularly in Hungary and Azerbaijan – that he could be a world-class in the near future.
His performance in Baku in particular, holding off Leclerc on one of the most demanding circuits on the calendar was very impressive.
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He knew the Monegasque driver would pounce if he made a single error and maintaining that level of concentration should bode well going forward.
The Formula 1 paddock are very excited about Piastri and his chances of potentially ending Verstappen’s reign of dominance.
He needs to win his intra-team battle against Norris while also keeping a close eye on Leclerc and his new teammate Lewis Hamilton.
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