What Oscar Piastri did at the Belgian Grand Prix that really impressed Martin Brundle

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri added his sixth career Formula 1 podium to his tally at the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday.

Initially, the young Australian was stood on the third step of the rostrum as Mercedes celebrated a one-two finish alongside him.

However, news quickly filtered through that Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton had both been promoted a place following the disqualification of George Russell.

It added another three points to his tally for the season and marginally increased his lead over Carlos Sainz in the Drivers’ Championship after leapfrogging the Ferrari driver at the end of the race.

McLaren now have two of the top four drivers in the standings, putting further pressure on Red Bull with Sergio Perez continuing to falter.

It’s a sign of how much the team have progressed in the last 12 months that not only are they regularly challenging for podiums and victories, but they’re disappointed when they’re not standing on the top step of the podium.

Martin Brundle was commentating on the race for Sky Sports F1 and really enjoyed Piastri’s performance.

There was one moment in particular from Piastri during the second stint that Brundle was really impressed by.

It seems as though Piastri is quickly closing the gap between himself and Lando Norris in terms of overall quality.

Norris has the advantage in the Drivers’ Championship at the moment, but it won’t be long until they’re on a level playing field at this rate.

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Martin Brundle left really impressed by Oscar Piastri during the Belgian Grand Prix

After hearing an encouraging radio message from McLaren, Brundle said: “Yeah, that’s quick, a [one minute] 47.0 from Piastri, so he’s been holding back.”

Croft replied: “Beware the quiet man, Oscar Piastri, who’s just been released now into some lovely clean air, leading the Grand Prix and has just banged in the fastest lap of the race.”

Brundle added: “That’s really handy from Piastri,” before Piastri said on the team radio: “It goes without saying but clean air is king.”

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McLaren must take advantage of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri’s outright speed

Max Verstappen may have extended his advantage in the Drivers’ Championship, but it’s hard to argue that he’s still got the fastest car on the grid.

He took full advantage of Norris having a poor start and McLaren offsetting his tyre strategy to make sure his closest rival couldn’t make any ground on him, but ultimately he couldn’t make enough ground to stop Piastri from putting another dent in Red Bull’s lead in the Constructors’ Championship.

Piastri achieving his first win in Hungary is an important milestone for the 23-year-old and unlike Norris, he doesn’t have to spend years fielding questions about when he’ll finally stand on the top step of the podium.

McLaren gambled on Piastri’s qualifying strategy which ultimately didn’t pay off and these small errors – such as the one Piastri eventually made in the pit lane during his final stop – are starting to add up.

The difference between McLaren celebrating the 2024 season as a big step forward and a championship-winning year are these small margins that need to be resolved from the Dutch Grand Prix onwards.