Davide Valsecchi explains why he thinks Oscar Piastri will be a Formula 1 champion

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Oscar Piastri has proven himself to be one of the most exciting talents on the Formula 1 grid since joining McLaren in 2023.

The Australian scored two podiums in his debut season last year and won the Sprint Race in Qatar as he finished ninth in the standings and claimed the Rookie of the Year award.

In 2024, the 23-year-old has been ever stronger. Piastri has only finished outside the points in Miami and has scored five podiums, including his first Grand Prix in Hungary.

READ MORE: McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s life outside F1 from height to girlfriend

That race in Budapest sparked great controversy, with McLaren ordering teammate Lando Norris to hand the lead back to Piastri after the former gained position followed a pit stop.

The team would also make headlines at the Italian Grand Prix. McLaren lined up one and two for the race, but Norris again could not hold on to his lead for the first lap as Piastri divebombed him into the first chicane.

The overtake compromised Norris as Charles Leclerc also got through heading into the first Lesmo. The Monegasque driver went on to win the race after Ferrari’s strategy paid off handsomely.

Davide Valsecchi labels Oscar Piastri a future Formula 1 champion

Piastri’s overtake on Norris caused widespread debate, as the latter stands the best chance of catching Max Verstappen in the championship.

Martin Brundle saw that Piastri has ‘zero interest’ in Norris’ title chances with his aggressiveness on the first lap. The Woking-based squad are now in a difficult situation as to whether they prioritise Norris, with the term ‘papaya rules’ being mentioned several times by McLaren at Monza.

Speaking on the F1 Nation Podcast after the race, Davide Valsecchi finds it difficult to see Piastri as McLaren’s second driver, and that his performances are worthy of a world champion.

“Sometimes the move and the attitude of Oscar Piastri is too strong and too good to say you are the number two,” he said.

“But, it’s a fact this season that Norris is more constant, has more speed in general and usually was able to treat the tyres better, since that the experience of Lando Norris was giving him more chances during the season and the standings is picking that Lando Norris has much more points.

“But it’s not so easy to consider Piastri a second driver, because he’s bloody quick in some of the races and this manoeuvre and this attitude to start every time well, to be so aggressive in a certain part of the race, how you can say that Oscar Piastri is not going to be a world champion in the future?

“He has all the quality, if he puts all together all the 25 races with the right car, next season it can be, how do you say, it can be one of the top contenders.”

What will McLaren do with ‘papaya rules’ going forward?

The Woking squad are currently presented with a headache for the remaining eight races, with Mercedes boss Toto Wolff warning McLaren that things could soon become dysfunctional.

After the Italian Grand Prix, Norris sits 62 points behind Verstappen after gaining eight points on the Dutchman with third and the fastest lap, while Verstappen finished down in sixth.

Piastri’s second place sees him sit fourth behind Leclerc, 106 points adrift from the defending three-time champion.

Naturally, it would be assumed that McLaren would prioritise Norris as he has the best opportunity to challenge, but ‘papaya rules’ seem to allow their two drivers to freely race.

It appears that Piastri has taken advantage of these boundaries and wants to race against his teammate. His overtake on Norris at Monza suggests that he gives little care to his teammate’s title aspirations and risks becoming a thorn in the Brit’s side for the final few races.