“Didn’t Bleat in the Press About His Illness”: Oscar Piastri Compared to Red Bull Legend as Warrior Mentality Grabs Deserved Headlines

Oscar Piastri’s recent actions in the Azerbaijan GP brought him a “tough guy” image. The Australian driver secured a P10 start in the Azerbaijan GP after he pipped Mercedes’ George Russell. The next day, he narrowly missed out on points having finished P10, far ahead of teammate Lando Norris. And the rookie McLaren driver managed to do it all while he was going through his illness. 

It is reported that Piastri was ill from food poisoning before coming to Baku, and lost 3 Kilos of weight during the weekend. Despite the suffering, he didn’t mention any of it in front of the media. Former F1 driver, Mark Webber, infamously vomited in his helmet during the 2007 Japanese GP. Despite suffering from food poisoning, he did not give up and put on a good performance and Oscar Piastri did exactly the same but in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. 

Admiring Oscar Piastri’s terrific grit and determination, F1 presenter Tom Clarkson said, “I see Oscar as a sort of mini me. When I see Mark and Oscar I see no difference. The fact that Oscar did not bleat in the press about his illness, that’s just a very Mark Webber thing to do.” 

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There is no doubt that the young Australian has a soldier’s heart. It’s no simple feat to drive this complex machinery around while being sick and a rookie pulling off such a move just goes on to show the future of the sport is in the right hands. Also, his contribution to the team might be steering McLaren in the right direction.

Oscar Piastri and McLaren ‘a step forward’?

While every team goes into the new season promising incredible amounts of ambition, McLaren went into the 2023 season with dampened spirits. Just like their spirits, the car looked nervous on track and difficult to drive. As a result, the McLaren drivers struggled to finish their races among the points. However, the race in Baku was different. 

After a tough start to the season, McLaren brought a significant upgrade package to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Lando Norris was able to make good use of it, and went home in points with a P9 finish. On the other hand, Oscar Pisatri finished P11 and narrowly missed out on points despite being sick. These promising results suggest that the upgrades they brought are working. 

But the McLaren driver feels otherwise. When asked about the upgrades, Norris said and as quoted by Motorsport.com, “I tried my best to keep up with the cars in front of me, but it made me push the tires a lot because we are not on the same level as them. If you look at our lap times, the steps we took probably didn’t help us much here. Maybe we can make bigger gains in mid-speed corners at the Miami circuit, but that’s it for now. We’ve taken a small step forward. It’s more like having a different philosophy.”

Watch this story: Will Lando Norris Switch Teams From the Miserable McLaren – What are his Options?

Do you think McLaren will turn out to be competitive later in the season?