Oscar Piastri is the new talk of the town. Lately, the Australian driver has been extremely impressive. Turning up as the fastest driver on the track – the still-new-to-F1 Piastri is even outperforming his teammate, Lando Norris. And not to forget, he even overpowered the defending champion Max Verstappen. At the start of the season, the Aussie struggled, but since the Monaco GP, he’s been on a roll.

During Piastri’s debut last year, there had been predictions about his future. Some said he’d never beat Lando Norris while others believed he was more of a champion material than Lando. Meanwhile, ex-Ferrari boss Peter Windsor believed that Oscar could unsettle Norris’ nerves during their partnership. And as it seems, Windsor wasn’t completely incorrect.

Peter Windsor’s predictions come true as Oscar Piastri continues to ravish one race after the other

When Oscar Piastri debuted in F1 last year, he was already the reigning F2 champion. Before that, he conquered F3 with full force. When a reigning champion joins a team, he will go all-out against his teammate. Since Lando had already spent 4 years in the sport by then, he was expected to be fine. “What could a rookie do?” some thought. But it was Peter Windsor who first pointed out the issues McLaren could face in the future. He said, “I think the biggest thing about Lando now is that it is a bit of a shell shock for him that he is alongside a guy now who is super quick.” 

Further sharing his predictions with Cameron F1, Windsor recalled: “He’s (Piastri) just like this torment that everywhere he (Lando) looks Oscar Piastri is matching him and going quicker. Which is exactly what I said the day McLaren decided to sign Oscar Piastri.” He added: “The way I phrased it was if you’ve got Lando Norris who is good enough to win a world championship keep Daniel Ricciardo. You don’t want to unsettle him with an Oscar Piastri in the other car.” At that time people had criticized Peter for his predictions. McLaren would’ve wanted the best drivers they could get. However, what Windsor foretold turned into reality.

The ex-Ferrari boss concluded: “Look what’s happened exactly what I said. You’re not getting the best from Lando Norris now because he’s unsettled by Oscar Piastri and from Oscar’s point of view, it’s Nirvana. He’s blowing away one of the best drivers in the world and he’s winning Grand Prix.” Piastri is agitating Norris to the extent that the experienced one is missing out on winning. Norris might focus too much on Piastri overtaking or winning, leading to repeated issues.

Piastri’s sudden rise in F1 has been an intriguing sight

The 23-year-old maintains a calm and composed demeanor. You would hardly find him irritated by the results or performance. But does that mean he doesn’t feel the disappointment when he fails to deliver? No. But Piastri is great at maintaining his composure. He ended McLaren‘s dry spell in 2023 by winning the Qatar GP Sprint race. Surprisingly, Piastri won a race before Lando did! His two years in the sport have attracted a lot of attention and for all the good reasons.

However, the onset of the ‘silly’ season saw a dip in his performance. People even tagged the present-day Kimi Raikkonen of F1 as “overrated.” But none of the comments or criticisms could sway the Aussie from his path. Soon, redemption came and he acquired his first podium of the season in Monaco, and another one in Austria. Finally, his maiden win came at the Hungarian GP. What a marvel it was!

But he did not stop there, acquiring another podium in Belgium. This time, it was P3, which later got promoted to P2, thanks to George Russell’s DSQ. Moreover, this is just the beginning for the still-rookie Oscar Piastri. With time, he could turn out to become someone like Max Verstappen; ever-dominating, fierce, and fearless. Just like any other champion who has braced F1, Oscar is writing his tale.

Meanwhile, his uprising is causing some major stir in his teammate Lando Norris’ racing. Could Piastri’s performance be the cause behind Norris’ weird situations? It is unclear. But the ‘Mini GOAT’ Oscar is doing a great job. When McLaren returns to the circuits in August, it’ll be interesting to see who does a better job – Oscar or Lando. What is your take on this? Let us know in the comments.