Even the new Iceman gets angry
In this first part of the 2025 season, Oscar Piastri has been described by many insiders as a new ‘Iceman,’ referencing the nickname given to Kimi Raikkonen to signify his coldness and unflappability. Unlike his teammate Lando Norris, the Australian seems perfectly capable of handling the pressure and emotional stress of the title fight, and he is rarely seen getting frustrated.
Even during the turn-1 battle with Max Verstappen in Jeddah, Oscar Piastri didn’t shout over the radio but simply—and very analytically—pointed out the reasons why he believed the world champion should be penalized, which eventually happened.
The only person to make Oscar Piastri lose his patience for a moment in Saudi Arabia was… Lance Stroll. In the final laps of the race, the Aston Martin driver was in front of McLaren’s race leader, who was about to lap him and needed to speed up as Max Verstappen, who was behind, was still trying to close the gap and contest the victory in a last-lap fight. However, the Canadian, who had just put on fresh tires, didn’t make life easy for the McLaren driver.
Unexpected obstacle Lance Stroll
Over the radio, Oscar Piastri didn’t appreciate his colleague’s behavior, as evidenced by the exchange with his race engineer Tom Stallard.
Piastri: “Oh guys, he needs to get out of the way!”
Stallard: “We need to get to 1.5 [seconds gap]. Gap is 1.7.”
Piastri: “I was at 1.5! Why aren’t there blue flags?”
After Stroll finally let him pass, Piastri couldn’t help but say, “F***, finally!” However, in the spirit of fairness, Stroll also made life difficult for Verstappen during the lapping, and Piastri had a good laugh about the #18 Canadian’s behavior. “I see Stroll is making a lot of friends behind me,” the Australian joked.
From the pit wall came confirmation of Max Verstappen’s delay, which helped calm Oscar Piastri’s final laps: “Max is still behind Stroll, 3.5 seconds behind you.”
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