Oscar Piastri admits it means ‘more’ when battling against two particular F1 rivals

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri says it means ‘more’ to go up against two particular competitors on the current F1 grid.

Piastri has just begun his second season in the sport after a successful rookie year.

And speaking on the Beyond The Grid podcast, he’s picked out the two drivers he relishes battling at the front of the field.

He finished three spots behind teammate Lando Norris in the 2023 standings (sixth vs ninth) and scored less than half the points (95 vs 205).

But only Lewis Hamilton (108 for the same team in 2007) has bagged more points in a debut season than the Australian.

Piastri finished on the podium in Japan and repeated that feat in Qatar after beating world champion Max Verstappen to win the sprint race.

While he had to settle for eighth place in the opening event of 2024 in Bahrain, he followed that up with fourth in Saudi Arabia.

That puts him fifth in the drivers’ standings on 16 points, four ahead of Norris.

Oscar Piastri says battling Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso is special

Piastri says he’s especially grateful to jostle with Mercedes driver Hamilton and Aston Martin legend Fernando Alonso.

The two oldest drivers on the grid, they’ve won nine world championships between them up to this point.

22-year-old Piastri is the youngest in the field and was only three years old when Alonso started his first title-winning campaign in 2005.

While he insists that every opponent is the ‘same’ when the visor goes down, he says he can appreciate the mystique of Hamilton and Alonso afterwards.

He said (27:45): “When you’re in the car, they’re just another person you’re trying to beat really.

“When you don’t have the helmet on, it means a little bit more when you’re racing against someone like Fernando or Lewis, just because of the history that they have and the success they’ve had in the sport.

“It is pretty cool, definitely. When you’re on track, honestly they’re all the same.”

Piastri passed Alonso early on in Saudi Arabia en route to his 12-point haul.

He then encountered a ‘defensive masterclass’ from Hamilton, in the words of Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok.

Hamilton, who stayed out during an early safety car period, was able to keep Piastri behind on older tyres before pitting.

At the opening race of the season in Bahrain, he finished in between the two as Hamilton came home seventh and Alonso ninth.

Piastri returns home to Australian GP

Piastri will hope to build on his stellar showing in Jeddah when he races in front of his home fans this weekend.

He scored the first points of his F1 career at Albert Park last year as he finished eighth.

Compatriot and F1 world champion Alan Jones has backed him to bag a podium finish.

Jones was the last Australian driver to win the title in 1980, but he believes Piastri can end the drought.

One thing that could aid his cause is a move further up the grid to Red Bull.

And he’s reportedly in line for a seat with the reigning champions if Verstappen leaves.