Winning the Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships in consecutive years earned Oscar Piastri a spot at McLaren for his Formula 1 debut in 2023, with high expectations. In the paddock, people spoke (and still do) of a future world champion, but the past season painted a picture of a driver who, in several respects, is still inferior to an excellent driver like Lando Norris. At Woking, McLaren made a significant investment, parting ways with Daniel Ricciardo after the 2022 season. However, in his first two years, Oscar Piastri has shown only flashes of his talent, particularly in terms of raw speed. The comparison with his teammate, who is now very experienced and familiar with the team, was acceptable in his rookie year. But in 2024, the numbers have not improved significantly, and Piastri has been involved in several weekends — including Barcelona, Zandvoort, Singapore, and Mexico — where he struggled to find speed, regardless of his comparison to Norris.
Victories came thanks to strong race management, but his pace was not impressive
The wins in Hungary and Azerbaijan highlight a tough and skilled driver in race management, both in the opening laps and in wheel-to-wheel battles. In Budapest, an excellent start allowed him to overtake Norris at turn one, manage the first stint, and secure the win with help from his teammate, who returned the lead after benefiting strategically. In Baku, Oscar Piastri was the only McLaren driver in Q3, following Norris’s mistake in Q1, so there was no direct comparison in pure performance. Nevertheless, aided by an imperfect Ferrari and the much-debated “mini-DRS” of the MCL38, the Australian seized the opportunity, overtaking Charles Leclerc and avoiding errors throughout the second half of the race while under pressure from the Monegasque’s Ferrari.
In his first two years, Oscar Piastri has yet to dominate a weekend and “wipe out” Norris. This is no easy task, as the Brit has shown very strong pace again this year, despite a few too many errors. However, drivers like Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc had no trouble asserting their speed against tougher opponents such as Daniel Ricciardo and Vettel in their early Formula 1 years. The standard of comparison is very high because expectations from the paddock and McLaren are equally high. Those who worked with Oscar Piastri in lower categories speak highly of him, with many labeling him as a future world champion. However, next year, he will need to make a step forward in raw performance, especially with a McLaren expected to be among the favorites to contend for both championships in the final year of these ground-effect cars.
What went wrong in 2024? Data reveals specific issues related to updates and setups
Upon his arrival in Formula 1, the biggest question surrounding number 81 was his ability to make the difference over a single lap. In Formula 2, he excelled in qualifying, but in Formula 3, he already experienced significant difficulties. In his rookie year, the gap of nearly three-tenths on Saturdays and two-tenths in races compared to Norris didn’t cause much concern, as improvement was expected in the Melbourne driver’s “sophomore year.” Instead, the deficit to his teammate has stabilized at around two-tenths. Particularly in the first part of the season, progress was noticeable compared to 2023, especially after the updates in Miami. However, following the summer break, the trend reversed, and Oscar Piastri struggled significantly in the final seven races of the year.
McLaren returned from the summer break introducing an upgrade package that notably improved the MCL38, especially in qualifying, finally surpassing Red Bull. From that moment on, Oscar Piastri’s performances were disappointing, with an average qualifying gap to Norris of around two-tenths. According to McLaren, the new parts introduced at Zandvoort slightly shifted the aerodynamic balance of the MCL38, thanks to a redesigned front suspension, floor edges, and rear-end components. Oscar Piastri’s difficulties may stem particularly from this last area, especially the balance achieved with this package paired with a high-downforce wing.
At Monza and Baku, we saw two of number 81’s best weekends, where he secured second place at Monza and his second win of the season in Azerbaijan, despite the MCL38 already featuring the “new” rear end. However, from Singapore onward, he experienced a series of poor performances during high-downforce weekends (Singapore, Austin, Mexico, Brazil, and Qatar), with average qualifying gaps to Lando Norris of six-tenths, earning results well below expectations. The Australian delivered his best races in low-downforce configurations, which clearly suit his driving style. However, to become a well-rounded driver, he will need to deliver performances of the same caliber even in less favorable conditions, including high-downforce setups.
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