Mark Webber shares how he’s helping Oscar Piastri behind the scenes and makes Lewis Hamilton comparison

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri has witnessed his teammate, Lando Norris, complete one of the biggest points swings in a championship battle in recent memory over the past two months.

When Oscar Piastri stood on the top step of the podium at the Dutch Grand Prix, he looked unstoppable.

He had a 24-point advantage over McLaren teammate Lando Norris, who parked up on the side of the track at Zandvoort with a mechanical failure.

Unfortunately, since that race, Piastri has failed to finish ahead of Norris, or fellow drivers’ championship rival, Max Verstappen, at any of the next six events.

Piastri went into the Sao Paulo Grand Prix weekend one point behind Norris in the championship, but left Interlagos 24 points worse off compared to his teammate.

A crash in the Sprint Race was followed up by a 10-second penalty that Charles Leclerc admitted was harsh on Piastri, as Andrea Kimi Antonelli did have the opportunity to give him slightly more room on the inside of the corner.

The Australian finished the race in fifth, with Norris completing a perfect weekend and Verstappen proving once again why he’s the fastest driver on the grid by finishing third after a pit lane start.

Mark Webber is Piastri’s manager and mentor and was in Sao Paulo covering the race alongside his role in the Australian’s camp.

He shared what he’s been doing behind the scenes to help Piastri during his recent tricky spell, and made an apt comparison to seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.

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

Mark Webber admits Oscar Piastri is on a ‘journey’ fighting for F1 championships so early in his career

Webber was covering the race at Interlagos for Channel 4 and asked about Piastri’s recent form. He said: “Of course, it’s a journey for him. Obviously, it’s been an incredible journey so early in his career to be fighting for a world title.

“Year three is pretty unprecedented. I think it was Lewis; there haven’t been many people who have done this so early in their career.

“So, naturally, that’s in the equation, of course, to understand the boundaries of how that can look for him, without putting too much pressure on the situation.

“And also, when I went for my championship, I was an old dog. I was really old, at the end of my career, he’s early in his career.

“So, there are different nuances there, a bit of everything. An arm around him, encouragement here and there, opportunities, you can see his pecker’s up, he’s working hard, and it’s early in his career.”

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Oscar Piastri admits the Brazilian Grand Prix was ‘ultimately disappointing’ after Lando Norris win

Piastri spoke to the media after the race and said in his official statement: “A tough afternoon. It was very eventful and just a shame that we didn’t get more out of it today.

“Ultimately disappointing, but we’ll reset before the final triple header.”

The upcoming triple header is going to be vital for both McLaren drivers, with Verstappen now 49 points behind Norris with a maximum of 83 points available.

McLaren admitted not getting Piastri’s strategy right in Brazil, although his penalty did complicate matters and meant he had to run longer on his first stint than he would have liked.

Sebastian Vettel has given Piastri some advice on what he needs to do to become world champion.

Fans of Formula 1 will see the irony in Webber and Vettel both giving Piastri advice on what to do, considering their rivalry at Red Bull during the early 2010s.

The only thing Piastri can do now is win the final three races of the campaign and hope Norris slips up, but the Brit will know finishing second for the rest of the season will be enough for him to claim his first F1 championship.