Outside Line: In awe of Oscar Piastri

Sixty races, and I will also admit that I overcame my scepticism I had of Piastri's arrival on the scene amid a cavalcade of hype, but he has since then lived up to it. And more so in my book. Now, into his third season at McLaren, I’m in awe of the kid from down under.

In his two and a half seasons at Woking, Piastri has really raised the bar at McLaren in terms of driving. When I say that, it’s because Lando Norris effectively ended Daniel Ricciardo’s career. Making the Briton is one of the most highly rated drivers on the grid.

Norris is undeniably quick. But from the moment Aussie arrived at McLaren, after acclimatising himself in that first season when Norris was already on his fifth, Piastri, in a very short space of time, has come up to the same level, at times higher, and pushed them both to places on track where only the best of the best survive.

Right now, it’s like an upwards-only seesaw: one goes quicker, then the other goes quicker, then back again. It's a beautiful contest between very evenly matched teammates, each session pushing that bar a tad higher.

As a result, with 15 races gone in this F1 championship, there are only nine points between them. And those nine points can disappear in a flash over a couple of races. The most likely reality is that the driver who will be World Champion is the one who wins the most Grands Prix this season. The score currently is six to five in favour of Piastri over Norris. Ten rounds remain.

What astounds me about Piastri’s 60 races is that he has achieved more than just about anyone else on the grid in that space of time. The only one who can match and usurp him in terms of results is Lewis Hamilton.

What of Max Verstappen, you might ask? Well, not if you count his 23 races with Toro Rosso, because he only won three times in 60 starts, while Piastri has eight wins already.

You could argue that is unfair as Verstappen was at Toro Rosso, not a winning team. But if you go 60 races into his Red Bull career, the Dutch ace had won five GPs at that point, compared to Piastri’s eight.

Furthermore, the Aussie could be F1 World Champion in only his third season in the top flight if he wins this year. Likewise, Verstappen won the first of his four F1 titles in his fifth season with Red Bull, his sixth in F1 if you count his rookie year with the junior team.

If Piastri carries on this impressive momentum, which is hard to predict because next year’s rules could change the entire F1 pecking order, and he might not have a winning car. Let’s assume, for the sake of this piece, that he does.

If McLaren is one of the two or three teams battling for the F1 World Championship next season, and he has a car that can win, Piastri could tear up the record books in a big way.

I’ll put it out there: as Piastri matures, he’ll develop into a very different driver to Max, but equally as potent and equally as capable of winning. Senna-Prost or Hakkinen-Schumacher spring to mind. His temperament is grounded, and with Mark Webber guiding him, he’s had an excellent hand steering his career.

Furthermore, Piastri doesn’t seem to have dedicated interests beyond Formula 1 at this point in his life; he just focuses on racing. Compare that to Lewis Hamilton, who takes extracurricular activities to the extreme, or even Lando Norris, who has his fair share of unnecessary non-racing distractions.

With Piastri, I see a guy who is single-minded about racing. Beyond that boyish smile and under the helmet lies one of the most effective drivers on the grid, with immense speed, smart racecraft and relentless grit. Thus, if he keeps going on this upwardly mobile trajectory, one day, he could be right up there with the record-breaking greats. That's why I'm in awe of the 24-year-old Aussie.