Lando Norris stands in “the same category, the same kind of World Championship material” as Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso. This is what McLaren’s Team Principal Andrea Stella had to say about the Belgian-British racer who has brought back hopes of a Championship to McLaren. But Lando is not alone in the journey towards bringing back the papaya army’s form from the late-1980s. Matching Lando’s skill with true talent of his own, there is Oscar Piastri.

Even though Lando Norris is Max’s closest Championship rival this season, Oscar Piastri’s potential is unmissable. While Lando had been trying for a Grand Prix victory for years ever since he joined McLaren in 2019, Piastri achieved it in his second F1 season. “When Piastri has that experience [like Lando Norris] too, we will definitely have another one [challenger for the Championship]. He is someone who can really challenge Max,” the F1 analyst Tom Coronel told F1 Maximaal.

But Oscar Piastri’s start to the 2023 season was not impressive enough to claim he is worthy of an F1 Championship. So, what makes Tom Coronel sure that the Aussie has improved already?

When Piastri debuted for McLaren, he did not come through with his performance in his first few F1 races. At the Bahrain GP, he had retired from his run, and in Jeddah, he finished 15th. By the time Piastri arrived in Hungary, he managed to get a great second-row start during Qualifying by ending up fourth on the list. However, he could not hold on to that position during the Main Race. “Take the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2023 as an example. He qualified well but in the race, you saw him slump during the second stint. In stint three he was the loser,” Coronel further added.

So, how can Coronel call Piastri a threat to Max Verstappen? Well, it’s because: “Things like that don’t happen to Piastri anymore. He is getting better at organizing the races. His raw speed is at least on the same level as Norris.” With this bold claim, the F1 analyst has made it clear that he thinks Lando Norris is not the only racer in orange whom Max Verstappen should be wary of.

Lando Norris is overshadowing Oscar Piastri, but the Aussie is not too far behind

Even before entering Formula 1, Oscar Piastri had made a huge splash in the drivers’ market. The Australian prodigy served as Alpine’s reserve driver initially and the Enstone outfit had even announced him as their newest recruit. But Piastri openly refused to sign a deal with Alpine and then, he announced that he would be joining McLaren in the place of Daniel Ricciardo. When Piastri and Lando Norris teamed up in 2023, the Woking outfit saw some outstanding results as it ended the Championship in P4 with 9 podium finishes.

This year, McLaren has almost touched the greatness of Red Bull by giving the Austrian outfit a massive fight for the World Championship. And this has also been the year when both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have clocked their maiden Grand Prix victories in F1. But it is Lando who is currently up against Max Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship table with only 78 points separating the two racers. But Coronel believes Norris is not the only one packing the heat on Verstappen and he has his reasons to back his claim.

As of now, Oscar Piastri is fourth on the World Championship standings. If he manages to surpass Charles Leclerc, the young Australian will get a Formula 1 podium in only his second season. Do you think the 23-year-old can make this possible?