“He is no longer the next best star coming into F1. The star is here.” Former F1 driver Karun Chandhok said these words about Oscar Piastri earlier this year. McLaren’s star driver has barely been in the series for two years. Yet Piastri is already making gigantic waves by winning two races this year. Along with his Victory Lane stories, Piastri can now add another feather to his cap.

The same feather belongs to three F1 legends – including Michael Schumacher and Lewis Hamilton. Hence, Piastri is already snuggling with the greats. Although his teammate Lando Norris led upfront in securing the constructor’s championship, Piastri showed remarkable resilience. He waded through multiple setbacks and completed the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, thereby fulfilling his 2024 season to the brim.

Oscar Piastri’s appetite is full

McLaren’s Australian star left multiple marks on his fans this year. First off, Oscar Piastri took the lead at the first corner of the Hungarian Grand Prix and led most of the race. Although a round of pit stops on lap 45 handed the lead to his teammate, Piastri triumphed in the end. That marked his first-ever GP victory. The second came in Azerbaijan, where he took a brave dive into the inside of race leader Charles Leclerc on lap 20 to claim a lead he would never relinquish. These two wins put him in championship-winning contention. However, although he could not beat Max Verstappen in the driver’s championship, another laurel awaited him.

After a tumultuous Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri became the fourth driver in F1 history to complete every single lap in a season. Before him, Michael Schumacher, a 7x Formula One champion, did it in 2002. Lewis Hamilton, another 7-time champ, accomplished this feat in 2019. The third and last driver before Piastri was Max Verstappen, who completed all the laps in the 2023 season.

The Red Bull driver also clinched this year’s driver’s championship, marking his fourth time in a row. Verstappen might also have prevented Piastri from achieving this.

The Abu Dhabi race started off chaotically for both Verstappen and Oscar Piastri. The former surged forward to battle Piastri for P2, but contact occurred between them, resulting in both cars spinning and dropping backward. As a result, stewards handed Verstappen a 10-second time penalty – but Piastri’s misery did not end there.

He hit the back of Franco Colapinto’s Williams before crossing the line in P10, landing a penalty of his own. Despite this tumult, Piastri said he raced to his heart’s brim on Sunday. “Obviously it was a tough race from then on but we achieved our main target today, that’s all that matters.”

His team’s major success ameliorated the pressure he faced from his struggles a bit.

The best ointment for the wound

Oscar Piastri’s Abu Dhabi trip was tough, as he had a tough time recovering from the mess that Verstappen left him in. Despite not having the smoothest day, the Aussie racer admitted that McLaren’s constructors’ title win made it a little easier to deal with.

Lando Norris carried a massive weight on his shoulders to protect the 21-point advantage his team had over Ferrari. Two of the latter team’s drivers – Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr – hounded him for the lead. However, Norris prevailed over the two and won the Abu Dhabi GP, as his Ferrari rivals grabbed the other podium finishes. This automatically handed the title to McLaren, and the team’s boss, Zak Brown, was overjoyed.

This victorious stint also left Oscar Piastri with a smile on his face. After sweating his brows over a tough day, Piastri was delighted for his team overall. “It was a pretty miserable race for myself!” Piastri conceded.

“But I think of course the biggest thing today is we clinched the championship and it’s a massive credit to everyone at McLaren for what they’ve achieved this year and couldn’t be prouder of them all. Very, very happy with the year’s work, and obviously today was tough, but nice to seal the deal.”

Evidently, Piastri has two reasons to celebrate at the end of this season. As 2025 rolls into view, let us see what the young speedster will have in store for us next year.