Nico Rosberg ‘loving’ the ‘world-class’ thing he’s seen from Oscar Piastri

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Nico Rosberg has declared he is ‘loving’ the ‘world-class’ thing the 2016 Formula 1 drivers’ champion has seen Oscar Piastri do with McLaren over recent Grand Prix.

No pilot has posted more points than Piastri in F1 of late with the 23-year-old scoring 135 in the last seven rounds. In the same stretch, Lando Norris has scooped 104, Max Verstappen’s earned 94 and Charles Leclerc has 87, the same amount Piastri scored in the first 10 rounds.

Taking two wins and three second-place finishes since the Spanish Grand Prix in June, when Verstappen last won a race, has also moved Piastri into fourth place in the drivers’ standings this season. His results have also helped McLaren to take the lead in the constructors’ table.

Nico Rosberg is ‘loving’ Oscar Piastri’s ‘world-class’ overtakes for the race lead

Victory in Budapest saw Piastri secure his first Grand Prix win at the Hungarian GP, while he added a second last time out in Baku. Piastri passed Leclerc to win the Azerbaijan GP with a great defensive drive and part of his performance on the city streets left Rosberg enthralled.

Rosberg adored the late dive into Turn 1 Piastri successfully attempted to overtake Leclerc in Baku. The Australian came from miles back to surprise the Ferrari driver, but kept his MCL38 under control to avoid drifting into the exit barrier. He was even quick to block the run to T2.

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Piastri’s pass further convinced Rosberg that he is doing a ‘phenomenal’ job for McLaren as the German already adored his overtake on Norris for the lead of the Italian Grand Prix. The Woking outfit locked out the front row and saw Piastri grab P1 around Norris’ outside at T4.

“Oscar’s doing a phenomenal job,” Rosberg said on Sky Sports F1 (21/9, 10:16). “I’m loving his overtakes. He overtook for the lead in Monza, he overtook for the lead in Baku and the overtakes were so special. I mean, they were world-class.”

Oscar Piastri left his calling card on Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc

Piastri was aggressive from the get-go at Monza to block George Russell into Turn 1, before relishing a superior run to Variante della Roggia to go around Norris’ outside. He forced the Briton to yield the spot before Turn 5, keeping tight to the track limits and avoiding contact.

It was ultimately not enough for Piastri to win the Italian Grand Prix as the two-stop strategy left McLaren vulnerable to Ferrari pitting Leclerc once, which helped the Scuderia to a home victory. But in a straight fight against the Monegasque in Baku, it was Piastri who triumphed.

The moves Piastri made on Norris at Monza and Leclerc in Baku will also serve as his calling card for future Grand Prix. The McLaren and Ferrari pilots now know, if they did not already, that the Melbourne native is not afraid to force an overtake but achieve it fairly and cleanly.