Oscar Piastri

[TheDeuce]

Maxdecel said:

TheDeuce said:

Just posted the same on the silly season thread. They're putting full faith in him and I'm not at all surprised.

Aaagh I looked for other posts but forgot that thread Doh !
Agreed, now established in the team; helped win CC. Just have a slight concern over when team orders may be requested ? Time will tell.

we posted at the same time!

I see it as hedging their bets. If the 2026 Merc PU is good, they keep Lando. If it's poor, Lando fks off but they've now secured Piastri, who is also a very, very strong driver.

At this point I can't decide which driver is actually the best long term bet tbh. I feel like Lando is naturally very quick but is held back by his weaknesses. I think Piastri is currently less quick overall but will continue to evolve and is actually the stronger driver in terms of grit and focus. If Piastri gets to be as quick as Lando at most circuits, he's the one I would give the best odds of winning a title, because I think the pressure of trying to win a title wouldn't phase him. Nothing seems to phase him, he's stood on podiums looking bored

Edited by TheDeuce on Tuesday 11th March 22:51

[TheDeuce]

I also think McLaren are themselves stumped as to which of their drivers should be pushed forwards... They seem determined to avoid demotivating Piastri by favouring Lando, which makes sense to me. I expect we'll see another season of very even and fair treatment between the two of them, unless one of them takes an early lead and has title in their sights of course - then that driver will and must get full support.

[Maxdecel]

TheDeuce said:

we posted at the same time!

I see it as hedging their bets. If the 2026 Merc PU is good, they keep Lando. If it's poor, Lando fks off but they've now secured Piastri, who is also a very, very strong driver.

At this point I can't decide which driver is actually the best long term bet tbh. I feel like Lando is naturally very quick but is held back by his weaknesses. I think Piastri is currently less quick overall but will continue to evolve and is actually the stronger driver in terms of grit and focus. If Piastri gets to be as quick as Lando at most circuits, he's the one I would give the best odds of winning a title, because I think the pressure of trying to win a title wouldn't phase him. Nothing seems to phase him, he's stood on podiums looking bored

Edited by TheDeuce on Tuesday 11th March 22:51

He's certainly chilled, also come 26 he'll have another season under his belt; done himself a favour if the expectation of the long run times from testing are accurate they both could disappear off in to the distance this season.

[TheDeuce]

Maxdecel said:

TheDeuce said:

we posted at the same time!

I see it as hedging their bets. If the 2026 Merc PU is good, they keep Lando. If it's poor, Lando fks off but they've now secured Piastri, who is also a very, very strong driver.

At this point I can't decide which driver is actually the best long term bet tbh. I feel like Lando is naturally very quick but is held back by his weaknesses. I think Piastri is currently less quick overall but will continue to evolve and is actually the stronger driver in terms of grit and focus. If Piastri gets to be as quick as Lando at most circuits, he's the one I would give the best odds of winning a title, because I think the pressure of trying to win a title wouldn't phase him. Nothing seems to phase him, he's stood on podiums looking bored

Edited by TheDeuce on Tuesday 11th March 22:51

He's certainly chilled, also come 26 he'll have another season under his belt; done himself a favour if the expectation of the long run times from testing are accurate they both could disappear off in to the distance this season.

I think they will, they appear to have the fastest car by some margin - although yet to be proven in battle.

I'm as interested in this driver pairing as I am in LH vs CLC

[Maxdecel]

TheDeuce said:

I think they will, they appear to have the fastest car by some margin - although yet to be proven in battle.

I'm as interested in this driver pairing as I am in LH vs CLC

Reckon as has been mentioned in other posts/articles we are in for some decent, close competition at the sharp end with the various combinations. hope so, at last.

[Blue62]

TheDeuce said:

I think they will, they appear to have the fastest car by some margin - although yet to be proven in battle.

I'm as interested in this driver pairing as I am in LH vs CLC

Me too, I like both McLaren drivers but for me Lando has the edge in terms of speed, but will he be able to manage the pressure?

I think they’re both still in the developmental stages of their career's, a fascinating season in prospect.

[Yazza54]

When it comes to team orders I think it's clear that the two no.1 drivers strategy doesn't extend the entire length of the season once one has their nose out in front by a significant enough margin. It's Oscar's job to put himself in that position by outscoring his team mate. I would imagine a lot of this comes from him being managed by mark Webber who knows all too well about being put in a no.2 role. Ultimately they can't both win the WDC but I don't think as it stands either one is favourite.

It's both clever and risky. It keeps them both happy in the sense they are even and it spurs them on to be faster and faster but there will come a point where one will have to ride shotgun, they also may have some issues when competing with one another but I'm sure they are aware of the risks and the bkings that will come from that. At least when one is asked to support the other it should be clear why that is (I.e. you're not a no 2 but ultimately you have the lesser chance of winning, due to your own performances). I think this is what they fumbled last year the most, lack of clarity in decision making.

[hondajack85]

Money in the bank. If some plum jobs come up in the next couple of years they dont have to worry Webber is scheming away in the background and if so they get some huge compo.
Might also have been a better written contract so the driver just does what they are told when Norris complains lol.
TBH Norris won the title single handed last year as Piastri went AWOL when it counted.

[Sandpit Steve]

TheDeuce said:

I think they will, they appear to have the fastest car by some margin - although yet to be proven in battle.

I'm as interested in this driver pairing as I am in LH vs CLC

Absolutely, two top teams both with a pair of No.1 drivers, should be absolutely fascinating to watch as the season progresses.

The only worry is that MV in an underperforming Red Bull might come through the middle of them to be a drivers’ contender.

[PhilAsia]

Sandpit Steve said:

Absolutely, two top teams both with a pair of No.1 drivers, should be absolutely fascinating to watch as the season progresses.

The only worry is that MV in an underperforming Red Bull might bowl through them to be a drivers’ contender.

FTFY

[Nova Gyna]

Sandpit Steve said:

TheDeuce said:

I think they will, they appear to have the fastest car by some margin - although yet to be proven in battle.

I'm as interested in this driver pairing as I am in LH vs CLC

Absolutely, two top teams both with a pair of No.1 drivers, should be absolutely fascinating to watch as the season progresses.

The only worry is that MV in an underperforming Red Bull might come through the middle of them to be a drivers’ contender.

I think Stella’s got a wise enough head on his shoulders to have learned from last year - what works, what doesn’t, for both his drivers and the team as a whole.

If they can tighten up their strategy and cut out the team order vagueness, they’re going to be tough to beat in both championships.

[maz8062]

In Mark Webber, OP has a fantastic manager, a manager that extricated him from the sinking ship that was Alpine to a plumb driver at McLaren and hype that is through the roof, so much so that he’s being talked about as a future WDC ahead of Lando. That’s value for money right there.

To me he’s a driver that doesn’t have enough patience and doesn’t seem to be able to read the races to determine when to apply pressure, when to look after tyres, when to up the pace for an under/overcut. So I think he’ll fall short over a season, but the money is in the bank and the hype train is still chugging along.

[kambites]

maz8062 said:

To me he’s a driver that doesn’t have enough patience and doesn’t seem to be able to read the races to determine when to apply pressure, when to look after tyres, when to up the pace for an under/overcut. So I think he’ll fall short over a season, but the money is in the bank and the hype train is still chugging along.

Very few drivers have those things at his age and experience level. Personally I think he has a significantly higher ultimate ceiling than Norris but it's bound to take him a few seasons to reach it.

[isaldiri]

maz8062 said:

To me he’s a driver that doesn’t have enough patience and doesn’t seem to be able to read the races to determine when to apply pressure, when to look after tyres, when to up the pace for an under/overcut. So I think he’ll fall short over a season, but the money is in the bank and the hype train is still chugging along.

Writing off Piastri so quickly is about as daft as those who were convinced that Norris was sure to come up short against Piastri mid-season last year......

[paulguitar]

kambites said:

maz8062 said:

To me he’s a driver that doesn’t have enough patience and doesn’t seem to be able to read the races to determine when to apply pressure, when to look after tyres, when to up the pace for an under/overcut. So I think he’ll fall short over a season, but the money is in the bank and the hype train is still chugging along.

Very few drivers have those things at his age and experience level. Personally I think he has a significantly higher ultimate ceiling than Norris but it's bound to take him a few seasons to reach it.

What makes you think this?

[kambites]

paulguitar said:

What makes you think this?

I think he's a more complete driver now than Norris was after two years in the sport; he also had a stronger junior career, although that historically has been a bit hit-and-miss as a metric for F1.

[rdjohn]

kambites said:

I think he's a more complete driver now than Norris was after two years in the sport; he also had a stronger junior career, although that historically has been a bit hit-and-miss as a metric for F1.

Being in a decent car can severely distort that perspective. He is hugely respected by McLaren hence the new contract. He is the real deal.

However, based on Sunday’s performance alone, I think that a Mk2 version of Lando turned up. Despite pressure from both Max and Oscar, he was the one looking totally in control.

[TheDeuce]

kambites said:

paulguitar said:

What makes you think this?

I think he's a more complete driver now than Norris was after two years in the sport; he also had a stronger junior career, although that historically has been a bit hit-and-miss as a metric for F1.

That's my view.

And people need to understand it's possible to talk about potential without claiming to have a crystal ball... He has all the right ingredients to be a phenomenal driver 'if' his speed continues to develop. We don't know yet when he'll reach his ceiling but we do know he hasn't yet and that he's already able to give more experienced Lando some serious competition.

[Muzzer79]

rdjohn said:

kambites said:

I think he's a more complete driver now than Norris was after two years in the sport; he also had a stronger junior career, although that historically has been a bit hit-and-miss as a metric for F1.

Being in a decent car can severely distort that perspective. He is hugely respected by McLaren hence the new contract. He is the real deal.

However, based on Sunday’s performance alone, I think that a Mk2 version of Lando turned up. Despite pressure from both Max and Oscar, he was the one looking totally in control.

I agree

Lando has always had good speed, but he needed more confidence in himself.

The consistent speed of the McLaren and regular winning seem to have bolstered this in him - he looked pretty unflappable on Sunday, even with multiple re-starts, a trip onto the grass, etc.

Early days for this year, but let's hope it continues.

[paulguitar]

TheDeuce said:

kambites said:

paulguitar said:

What makes you think this?

I think he's a more complete driver now than Norris was after two years in the sport; he also had a stronger junior career, although that historically has been a bit hit-and-miss as a metric for F1.

That's my view.

And people need to understand it's possible to talk about potential without claiming to have a crystal ball... He has all the right ingredients to be a phenomenal driver 'if' his speed continues to develop. We don't know yet when he'll reach his ceiling but we do know he hasn't yet and that he's already able to give more experienced Lando some serious competition.

I think if he was going to be some kind of all-time great we'd have seen signs of that already.


He's a solid number two to Lando who will produce the odd amazing weekend from time to time. But he's slower. That last tenth and a half is not something a driver can 'learn' to find. It's a bit like with Sainz, brilliant driver but just not quite as fast as LeClerc.