Nelson Piquet Jr says Oscar Piastri’s rookie season proved he’s no Lewis Hamilton

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Nelson Piquet Jr says drivers like Oscar Piastri and Kimi Antonelli lacked the same ‘confidence’ as Lewis Hamilton in their rookie Formula 1 seasons.

Hamilton came within a point of winning the world championship in his first season, a feat that hasn’t been achieved since the championship was born in 1950. He finished level with McLaren teammate Fernando Alonso, already a two-time title-winner at that point.

Speaking on the Pelas Pistas podcast, Piquet Jr said this was a greater reflection of Hamilton’s greatness than many of his championship-winning seasons.

Hamilton had the ‘luxury’ of driving several dominant cars at Mercedes, but matching Alonso as a rookie underlines his historic talent.

Nelson Piquet Jr raves about Lewis Hamilton’s rookie season compared to Oscar Piastri

By contrast, Piquet Jr says Piastri’s rookie season wasn’t ‘anything special’. He won a Sprint race in Qatar, interrupting Max Verstappen’s record-breaking dominance, and also scored two Grand Prix podiums.

Piastri achieved the highest points total for a newcomer (97), though historical comparisons are difficult due to the 2010 points system change and the increasing number of races.

Lando Norris scored more than double the points in the other McLaren (205), winning the race-to-head 17-5 and the qualifying battle 17-7.

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While Antonelli is showing signs of a second-year leap at Mercedes, he was beaten even more convincingly by Russell last season (20-3, 17-3).

“[Hamilton’s] first season was much more significant than the championships he won with his hands tied behind his back, with a very good car,” Piquet Jr said.

“And that’s what really matters, because we see nowadays what Oscar Piastri did in his first season against Lando, which wasn’t anything special, he got a relatively big beating.

“[We see] what Kimi Antonelli [did] against Russell in his first season. Then you take what Lewis did in his first season against Alonso, I think only we, the people who are in the business, will be able to analyse that, right? The confidence he had in his first year was crazy.”

Oscar Piastri’s admiration for Lewis Hamilton

Hamilton, Piastri and Antonelli all have one thing in common: they started their careers at one of the ‘big four’ teams.

Only Hamilton was able to compete for the title immediately, with Piastri joining a McLaren squad who were still working their way back to the front. They started the year near the back of the grid but were challenging Red Bull by the summer.

Antonelli’s Mercedes was fast enough to win a couple of races in Russell’s hands last year, but not a title contender. He now has the opportunity to emulate Hamilton, the driver he succeeded, by becoming a champion in year two.

In a recent interview, Piastri called Hamilton ‘one of the most inspiring’ athletes given his achievements on and off the track. He’s hoping to join the Briton on McLaren’s roll of honour in the coming years.