Oscar Piastri’s Instagram caption suggests he’s leaning into comparison with former F1 champion

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri goes into the summer break in exceptional form after securing three podium finishes in the past four races.

Oscar Piastri inherited second place in Austria after teammate Lando Norris clashed with Max Verstappen in the closing stages of the races, taking them both out of contention.

At Silverstone, Piastri had a real opportunity to win the race were it not for a botched McLaren strategy that saw him pit one lap too late in typically British conditions.

The 23-year-old put that right at the Hungaroring and secured his maiden F1 Grand Prix victory after overtaking Norris going into the first corner.

He needed McLaren to talk Norris into handing the lead back to him after an ultra-conservative strategy during the final stint created a very awkward scenario.

Piastri then crossed the line in 3^rd at Spa but was promoted to 2^nd after George Russell’s disqualification to cap off a fantastic run of races for the Australian.

A lot has been said about Piastri’s demeanour throughout this success and has drawn comparisons with one former F1 world champion.

He was exceptionally calm in Hungary despite winning his first race although that might have had something to do with the nature of the victory given Norris had to dramatically slow down to let him by in the closing stages.

Piastri has now posted on Instagram and the one word he used to caption the post suggests he’s fully leaning into the comparison with Kimi Raikkonen.

The Finnish legend was nicknamed ‘The Iceman’ during his time in F1 and won the world championship in 2007 while driving for Ferrari.

His time in F1 spanned more than 20 years and Piastri will be dreaming of that level of success and longevity at this early point in his career.

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Oscar Piastri leans into comparison with Kimi Raikkonen in latest social media post

The McLaren driver posted a series of pictures of him celebrating his podium finish at Spa as well as posing with CEO Zak Brown in a fake mohawk.

Alongside the collage, Piastri simply used the caption: “Bwoah”, which is a direct reference to Raikkonen.

The Finnish driver used to start many of his answers to questions with the noise and was asked about it during his time in the sport.

During a Reddit AMA, he was asked why he said it and replied: “I don’t know, it’s just something to start a sentence.

“I never paid too much attention to it until everyone started mentioning it.

“I am sure if people listened to themselves, they would realise they use a lot of weird words when they talk.”

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Oscar Piastri receives Helmut Marko compliment in subtle dig at Lando Norris

There’s a reason why there’s so much excitement around Piastri despite the fact he’s only halfway through his second Formula 1 season.

McLaren poached him from Alpine having recognised his talent in junior series and the French team made a huge error not finding a spot for him in their line-up as soon as he won the Formula 2 title during his maiden campaign.

The lack of drivers promoted from that series ever since – recent champions Felipe Drugovich and Theo Pourchaire are still without a driver – highlights just how good Piastri is compared to other drivers of a similar age.

Red Bull chief Helmut Marko has admitted he would love to sign Piastri in the future but admits it would be very difficult.

Instead, Marko had a dig at Lando Norris after the Belgian Grand Prix suggesting that Piastri might have the advantage over him in one key area.

Piastri’s mentality will take him a long way in Formula 1 and if there’s anyone to emulate in recent times when handling pressure, it’s Kimi Raikkonen.