After a challenging home weekend in the Australian Grand Prix, which ended with a disappointing ninth place, Oscar Piastri redeemed himself in Shanghai.
Car number 81 secured second place in the Sprint, claimed his first career pole position, and delivered a dominant victory in the race—an almost flawless and undoubtedly complete weekend.
Compared to Lando Norris, but especially to his own performance just a few months ago, Oscar demonstrated significant progress in one key area: tire management.
Can Oscar Piastri 2.0 beat Lando Norris for the title?
The difficulties in Melbourne did not have a negative psychological impact on Oscar Piastri; in fact, quite the opposite may have occurred.
In the Chinese Grand Prix, both in the 100 km Sprint and the Sunday Grand Prix, the 2001-born driver was masterful with tire management. Perhaps for the first time since entering Formula 1, he held his own against his teammate in this aspect.
Considering the competitiveness of the MCL39, Lando Norris’s early mistakes (in both qualifying sessions and on the first lap of the Sprint), and the progress shown by the Australian, this performance serves as a warning to McLaren and the entire world: he, too, could be a contender for the world title.
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