Oscar Piastri shares the ‘very special’ Luca di Montezemolo moment he enjoyed after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is very quickly earning the respect of some of the most influential people in the Formula 1 paddock.

After winning the Bahrain Grand Prix, anybody who rules out Oscar Piastri being a championship contender, if not the favourite for the title, is very much mistaken.

Piastri sits three points behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the drivers’ championship, but their approaches to the most recent race weekend couldn’t have been any different.

Lando Norris is giving his rivals a competitive edge, according to David Coulthard, because he’s being too negative in public about his relationship with the MCL39.

Piastri, on the other hand, has kept any concerns he has with the car to himself and looks composed no matter the situation he’s presented with.

Ferrari legend Luca di Montezemolo was in the paddock in Bahrain and gave his verdict on a variety of topics.

Di Montezemolo hinted Alonso might be close to retiring, but at the other end of the Formula 1 spectrum, he has very high hopes for the young Australian.

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Luca di Montezemolo treated Oscar Piastri ‘like a son’ after winning the Bahrain Grand Prix

Coulthard and Piastri were chatting after the race on Channel 4’s coverage of the Bahrain Grand Prix about the Australian’s experience across the weekend.

The former McLaren driver was praising Piastri and said: “The other thing I’m really impressed with is you recognise the importance of this to McLaren, to the owners.

“You’re a young guy, a lot of this sort of stuff happened before you were even born, never mind what you’re achieving right now.

“Di Montezemolo, touching you like a son, there’s a lot of respect for your performances right now.

“Are you just sort of like, oh, this makes sense, because I’m battling for a world championship. Or, do you go, that’s Di Montezemolo, I’m not going to wash, the guy’s a legend!”

Piastri replied: “Yeah, it’s been a really, really special weekend. I’ve met a lot of cool people this weekend.

“To have the acknowledgement from people like Luca, from all kinds of people, really has been fantastic.

“Obviously, I go racing to try and get the results on the track, but to have the recognition from some pretty important people in the world, full stop, but in the world of motorsport and F1 is a very special thing as well.”

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Luca di Montezemolo reflects on Lewis Hamilton’s start to life at Ferrari

Di Montezemolo may wish he had a young talent like Piastri rising through the ranks at his beloved Ferrari.

He admitted during the race weekend that it hurt to see Mercedes junior Andrea Kimi Antonelli not racing for Ferrari, given his nationality, particularly as he slipped through their fingers as a youngster.

Di Montezemolo isn’t confident Hamilton will win a championship with Ferrari after witnessing his first four race weekends with the team.

That’s not entirely down to the seven-time world champion, who doesn’t have a car capable of competing across a race weekend.

That’s in stark contrast to Piastri, who appears to be in the best form of his F1 career, and is peaking at the right time with the quick car on the grid at his disposal.

The number of drivers who appear to be in a strong enough position to stop him is rapidly shrinking, and his job now is to overtake Norris in the championship and establish a lead over his rivals.