Oscar Piastri has emerged as the championship leader and is currently the main contender for the title. According to former F1 driver Jacques Villeneuve, the Australian has the advantage of being seen as the ‘golden boy’ within Formula 1. ‘If something happens, he doesn’t get penalized as quickly as, for example, Max Verstappen,’ says the former world champion.
After his third consecutive victory in Miami, Oscar Piastri is currently the main title contender, closely followed by both teammate Lando Norris and current world champion Max Verstappen. The latter two were already embroiled in a title fight last year, with Piastri playing second fiddle. A year later, that’s different, and according to former world champion Jacques Villeneuve, that’s bad news for Verstappen.
According to Villeneuve, Piastri is better equipped to face the Dutch world champion than his teammate. “Oscar Piastri doesn’t seem to buckle under pressure, and also has a good mentor in Mark Webber,” the Canadian explains to Vision4Sport. Webber himself fought for the title as a Formula 1 driver in 2010. “He is someone Oscar can really rely on. I wouldn’t quite say he was a father figure, but they complement each other well.”
Imbalance
The 1997 world champion not only cites Webber’s experience as a significant advantage for Piastri in his first title fight. “Piastri is loved. He is the golden boy at the moment. If something happens, he doesn’t get penalized as quickly as, for example, Max Verstappen. That is also a big help in his title fight. It reminds me of the title fight between Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. If they made the same move, Nico got a penalty. If Lewis did the same thing in a race later, he didn’t get a penalty. There is a slight imbalance, and Piastri is on the right side.”
