The 2024 season was bountiful for Oscar Piastri. With two wins and eight podiums, the Aussie made strides in his second season. His growth as a driver put him in 6th place in our F1 driver rankings.
Opening stint
The season started slow for McLaren. With Max Verstappen continuing his 2023 form and the RB20 seeming just as formidable, Piastri and Norris resided on the edge of the podiums in the early rounds.
From Bahrain, it was clear Oscar Piastri had the raw pace to match Norris, but his Achilles heel shone through on race day. Some struggles with tyre management and general race pace meant that even when Piastri did seem the faster of the pair he often fell behind during the race.
Tyre management remained an issue for the Aussie in 2024, although he improved as the season progressed. After his podium in Monaco, Piastri made the step up leading to his wins in Hungary and Baku.
Papaya rules
After Miami, the tides at McLaren changed. Lando Norris took his first win and Red Bull were struggling somewhat initially, before it got worse as the campaign went on. Suddenly a possible championship for the team was on the cards.
At this stage in the season, the drivers had been evenly matched, with Norris just taking the edge. With Norris on his sixth season of Formula One, Piastri’s ability to stay close was indicative of his talent.
With the championship within reach around the Austrian GP, McLaren had to decide whether to name a number-one driver or continue putting the team first. In the end, they were indecisive.
A first win overshadowed by McLaren’s indecisiveness
Hungary was the first sign of tension as the team got things badly wrong. When a poor strategy decision led to Norris coming out ahead of Piastri thanks to an undercut, the team ordered the two to swap. Norris put up a fight on the radio but eventually allowed the Aussie ahead to take his maiden victory, albeit a marred one because of the circumstances that led to it.
The 23-year-old had led in the first two stints after taking the lead at the start.
Messy Monza
At Monza, papaya rules came to a head. Oscar Piastri showed he wasn’t afraid to back down against his more experienced teammate and overtook Norris with a bold and brilliant pass into the second chicane to take the lead.
However, they both contrived to lose the race as they were pushing each other so hard, working their tyres too much. It opened the door for Charles Leclerc to win on a one-stop.
Norris still held the advantage in qualifying consistently throughout the season and found an advantage over Piastri into the final rounds. However, moments like Monza showed that Piastri should challenge Norris more consistently in years to come.
Baku win
His best moment of the season by far was his win in Azerbaijan. Piastri started behind Charles Leclerc’s Ferrari but he wasted no time in getting past at the start of the second stint as the Monegasque struggled to fire the hard tyres up. An impressive move from way back left Leclerc defenceless and Piastri in the lead.
From that moment he led the entire Grand Prix coming home to claim his second but most exciting win that season. This performance was a true testament to his capabilities.
Piastri’s late-season performance and his early-season tyre struggles were his biggest downfalls in 2024. In the final few rounds of the season, he fell back from Norris’ pace in both qualifying and in the race.
However, if McLaren can continue with the momentum into 2025 Piastri will likely find himself at the front of the field. Nonetheless, he must make a step to challenge for the championship if that’s the case.
