Martin Brundle made eerily accurate Oscar Piastri prediction before Hungarian Grand Prix

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Oscar Piastri won his first Grand Prix in Hungary last weekend. While slightly tainted by the team orders controversy at McLaren, it marked the biggest moment of his career so far.

Piastri had lost out to his teammate Lando Norris in qualifying but he was able to force his way past at the start. The Australian then controlled the race up until the second pit-stop phase.

McLaren brought Norris, who was running second, into the pits first in order to cover off the undercut threat from behind. With significantly fresher tyres, the Briton wiped out Piastri’s lead in the two laps before he boxed.

That meant the two cars had swapped places, albeit through no fault of Piastri. McLaren instructed Norris to return the position but had to resort to some emotional pleas before he moved over.

The team’s more senior driver had built up a six-second advantage before he slowed down on the pit straight to let Piastri re-take the lead. They are now level on one win apiece in F1.

This wasn’t his first ‘win’ of any description – he took a Sprint race victory in Qatar last year. But it’s the first that will hold true weight in the history books.

Martin Brundle predicted that Oscar Piastri win was imminent

While this was only Piastri’s 35th Grand Prix, he’d already finished on the podium on four occasions. He was runner-up to Max Verstappen in Qatar, and to Charles Leclerc in Monaco.

The 23-year-old had also come close to winning in Austria at the end of last month following the late collision between Verstappen and Norris. George Russell ultimately held him off, but Piastri would have been in position to capitalise had he not had his qualifying time deleted for track limits.

That penalty dropped him from third to seventh, and proved very costly indeed. A week later at Silverstone, he was the victim of a poor strategy as McLaren left him out too long on dry tyres, spurning another legitimate shot at victory.

But Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle ‘sensed’ that a win was coming. Speaking during British GP qualifying, Brundle predicted that it was ‘just around the corner’, which proved to be eerily accurate.

“The only driver to have completed every racing lap so far this season is Oscar Piastri,” he said. “If he hadn’t have lost that time in qualifying last weekend in Austria, he had a very, very good chance of winning that race, didn’t he? You sense a win is just around the corner for this young man.”

What Damon Hill said to Oscar Piastri after Hungarian Grand Prix win

Many in the paddock recognised that it was a matter of when, not if, Piastri broke his duck. McLaren seem to have the best all-round car in the field right now, and the former F2 champion has shown he’s capable of beating Norris.

Karun Chandhok says Piastri has the demeanour of a winner – ‘cool, calm, fast’. He’s the seventh different driver to take the chequered flag in the first 13 races of 2024.

In a sense, his next win may be even sweeter, provided there are no team orders at play. Norris congratulated Piastri on social media, but you sense there will be a slight awkwardness behind the scenes at McLaren.

Both drivers will regard themselves as world champion material and they can draw extra confidence from their maiden victories. Damon Hill welcomed Piastri to the ‘Hungaroring club’, having also claimed his first-ever win in Budapest back in 1993.