McLaren may have entered the new Formula 1 season as favourite for the world championship double but perhaps Lando Norris would have been the fancy for the F1 drivers’ title, rather than teammate Oscar Piastri
Yet after five races, Piastri has emerged as the favourite for the crown having won three races while Norris has struggled for form and consistency.
It has been a remarkable show of performance from Piastri who has conquered his own weaknesses to emerge on top early on – here’s how.
Piastri cures a weakness
Piastri came onto the F1 grid with a whole lot more pressure than most rookies after the fiasco regarding his contract at Alpine.
Being announced at one team, refusing that deal and having to go through a court process to secure the McLaren move meant that he almost had to perform from the get-go.
Those in the paddock knew Piastri had the pace to be competitive – he hadn’t won three successive junior category championships for no reason.
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Yet his achilles heel had been tyre preservation with Pirelli’s compounds, specifically in the latter stages of stints. Even with McLaren‘s advantage towards the end of last term – his second season with the team – Norris was outperforming Piastri more often than not as the stints drew on.
But to Piastri‘s credit, he has found the solution to that issue, his first two victories this term were utterly dominant. He never saw a rival at the Chinese Grand Prix, albeit with Norris suffering from a brake problem, while in Bahrain, the television broadcast never saw him – a sure sign of an easy win.
The inability to show Piastri crossing the line was perhaps an indication that his worth to the F1 title race had been underplayed – the battle between Norris and George Russell instead taking precedence. But that was rectified as he took the championship lead with his win in Jeddah last weekend. With very little to show as a weakness, will Piastri kick on and take a maiden F1 drivers’ title?
An edge on Norris?
Much has been made of Norris‘ shaky start to the year since his win at the Australian Grand Prix.
Piastri was hounding the Briton at the end of the Japanese Grand Prix while in Bahrain, a poor qualifying and then a false start penalty left Norris battling to limit the damage, eventually finishing third.
When Norris needed a clean weekend most to help his confidence and take the heat off him from the outside, he found the wall in qualifying and failed to reach the podium, falling behind in the championship race.
The mental fortitude of the team-mates has been a comparison in recent weeks given Norris‘ self-deprication and Piastri’s almost robotic nature and while the former has been susceptible to mistakes, that doesn’t make Piastri bulletproof either.
Piastri‘s championship lead would be even greater had he not spun in treacherous conditions at his home race to start the season. Both Norris and Piastri went off from the leading two positions but while one rejoined facing the right direction, the other faced the wrong way on the wet grass.
But since that, there’s hardly been a foot put wrong in qualifying or race conditions, with Piastri metronomic in his performance. With Norris likely his only challenger for the title based on the opening five races, the Australian has the upper-hand.
Verstappen battle proves Piastri’s credentials
It’s very rare in the past five years that we have seen someone go up against Max Verstappen wheel-to-wheel and show the ruthlessness that Piastri has.
Norris was able to be as aggressive and prosper in Mexico last season but on other occasions, he has perhaps been too kind with his racecraft where his rivals would have been less so.
There were no niceties from Piastri at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as he went side-by-side with Verstappen into Turn 1. Starting from second, the McLaren had the better getaway and took control of the corner, using all the track to force the Dutchman into a decision: cut the corner, bail out on the brakes or crash.
Verstappen took the first option and instead of relinquishing the position, he held onto the lead and was penalised five seconds, essentially handing Piastri back control.
The rights and wrongs of the entire incident is a discussion for another day. What is relevant is the fact that Piastri was not afraid to dish out the treatment that Verstappen has given to other rivals in recent years. It felt like a statement of intent as to say ‘I have arrived, the title will be mine’.
F1 still has 19 races to take in and Norris has already proven he has the speed to win multiple races. But the last time the Briton won a championship was European F3 in 2017, while Piastri has more recent success that could maybe be a factor.
By no means is Piastri nailed on to winning the F1 drivers’ title, given Norris and indeed Verstappen are the hunters. It is time, however, to acknowledge that he is a well deserved contender and, while focus is placed on Norris‘ trails and tribulations, the favourite.
