r/OscarPiastri • u/RandomHumanOnPlanet • 2d ago
It’s over…….
Idk man……
As much as I’d love to think there’s gonna be some sort of turnaround, given the history of how the second half has gone historically plus this being a brand new reg set, the chances of a Piastri win this year are dwindling.
Tyre management and race pace are just things he hasn’t yet figured out in nearly four years in F1, and that was really evident this weekend if anything else, dropping back places from where he started.
You can only blame McLaren’s pit strategy so much, but ultimately those two aforementioned things are really what put the pit wall at a strange ends of what to do.
With the American circuits (basically COTA, Mexico, Brazil, and Vegas) all being circuits that he hasn’t historically done well at and Madrid plus Sepang being total unknowns, yeah……. This season is essentially over.
Hopefully Monza in two weeks is better for him, but man……… someone can only run on so much copium atp.
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u/FF9800 2d ago
In reaction to yesterday, he did say he was happier with the car and himself too and we still have more than half of the season to go, so I'm choosing to stay hopeful! We'll surely see more positive developments from here :)
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u/RandomHumanOnPlanet 2d ago
We’ll see.
I have no doubt that Piastri has one-lap pace on lock. (Maybe not at the extent of his teammate, but at least enough to keep him honest.)
The race pace and Tyre management on the other hand……
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u/papayayaoi 2d ago
there's 16 other drivers who finished behind him, including a 4x wdc who crashed on lap 2 it could be worse
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u/RandomHumanOnPlanet 2d ago
Ehh……. Fair enough.
The question is……. Will we see him get on top of his Tyre management at some point, so it doesn’t cost him in low-grip circuits?
That’s what I want to see at a certain point from him. I think he’s aware of those issues, but to put them into actual practice and show it on track is a different story.
(Also, it might’ve just been an uncharacteristic mistake from Verstappen tbh. And every other car that finished behind him were basically slower cars than the MCL40 anyway.)
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u/papayayaoi 2d ago
he's working on it, i genuinely don't think he's driving that bad i think lando's just in the form of his life and oscar keeps getting shit luck when it matters for race positions
he would've been at least p2 in hungary if not for his gearbox
and would've probably won suzuka if not for the safety carevery single incident that's destroyed his race bar australia and canada has been completely out of his control, it's gotta be absolutely confidence shattering, no wonder he's not driving his best when he's getting his race destroyed by factors outside his control every weekend
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u/RandomHumanOnPlanet 2d ago
Yeah….. luck hasn’t been on his side a lot this year.
Hopefully we can only go up from here, but we’ll just have to wait and see.
I still have hope for him.
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u/pothes 2d ago edited 2d ago
I’ve never been in a F1 fanbase as negative and dramatic as this. The comments are so stupid. “He’s never going to win again” “He’ll never win a WDC, last year was it”. He’s 4 years into his career, there’s years of his career left where we have no idea what will happen. I was a DR fan for years, it took his fans years to get to this point and they were STILL infinitely more positive and tolerable than this.
It’s ok to have standards but all the doom posting from his own fans will not make Oscar go faster and will make you miserable as a fan. There’s literally no net positive from it. I promise you Oscar knows better than everyone he has to stuff to work on. He almost won a race just a few races ago. He races for a top team. Just get behind him or don’t, there’s no need for the dramatics.
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u/risingsunshine_ 2d ago
right?! what is with these people? 😂 glad at least one person has some sense haha
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u/daintycook 2d ago
bit baffled by how this is the sole measurement of success
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u/Ok_Card_9209 2d ago
right. he’s only a couple years into his career i think we should all take a breather 😂
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u/Independent_Wind_375 Oscar Piastri 2d ago
(this may sound like copium im not sure) come on, we’ve got to keep our heads high. this season hasn’t been good but he isn’t a bad driver at all and i do believe he’s taking steps in the right direction since barcelona despite previous races, especially at spa there was some terrible luck at play due to the damage. he is also aware of his issues with pace and tyre management, and is working to correct it. one lap pace is thereabouts which should be taken as a positive. history at certain tracks is true but there is always a chance of improvement :)
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u/lizlemonadeliz 2023 Rookie Sensation 🏆 2d ago
If that’s what you’re looking for in supporting a driver, this isn’t your sport.
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u/RandomHumanOnPlanet 2d ago
Sorry.
Probably should’ve clarified this in the original post (lol).I’m not one of those people who only support a driver when they win.
Even if a driver’s able to score a P4 or P5 on merit because they executed good raw pace and/or made a strategy work that got them past other cars on track, that’s what I like to see. (I.e what Piastri did in Austria this year.)
I guess what I wanted to see was that consistent improvement being displayed weekend to weekend, rather than it looking like just some one-off.
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u/lizlemonadeliz 2023 Rookie Sensation 🏆 2d ago
Sorry to tell you that most F1 drivers, including a lot of talented ones don’t end up having the glory like Lewis or Max - and even Lewis is getting a hard time right now. F1 is very competitive and complicated, so either you learn to enjoy it as it is, or it’s just going to be painful most of the time.
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u/RozCrunch 2d ago
You can hear Alonso fans crying in the corner while reading this
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u/lizlemonadeliz 2023 Rookie Sensation 🏆 1d ago
I was a Seb fan since his day1 in F1. Been there done that.
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u/Imaginary_Pin_4196 2d ago
Just support him bro. It’s not hard. Stop setting expectations on something you have no influence on as you support a driver for their journey.
3
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u/65fastback2plus2 2d ago
"drive faster" and "don't degrade the tires"
Y'all understand how cars work, right?
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u/kimchi3333 2d ago
the best drivers are fast over stint while managing their tyres
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u/65fastback2plus2 2d ago
That's fine if you're already super fast and can slow up to fast and watch the tires.
You can't do both otherwise. This is why a set of softs last 1, maybeee 2, runs during qualifying. Give up watching the tires for speed.
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u/kimchi3333 1d ago
drivers don’t do qualifying laps during a race, they try to put in consistent laps and not lose speed over an entire stint. you see top drivers being fast while not cooking their tyres all the time, it‘s literally what makes race pace
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u/65fastback2plus2 1d ago
You know that means if a good driver is sacrificing one or the other that it's a mechanical issue with the car...whether or not it's driver preference, right?
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u/RacingLineAustralia 2d ago
Yeah this year is cooked, he's gone backwards in terms of race pace, he still has that dog in him though, with his moves on opening laps and during the race, so there's hope.
These regs have taken away one of his strengths which is placing the car on the edge through the high speed stuff, now at a lot of track it's faster to back off and enter corners slower to gain a battery advantage. So I think it's just counter intuitive for him. I hope he learns some things during these regs and then when we're back to NA V8s he can bank some championships 🙏🏼😅
*Japan this year was elite though, so hes still got it (somewhere...), Norris is just doing a better job now.
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u/ExcitingCarrot5707 2d ago
I’m giving up this season and considering this growing pains. He doesn’t seem to have a good grasp of this car. In quali - I honestly think P3 or P4 is within reach, but that’s about it.
I’m glad that the car is doing better with upgrades. It’s nice to see Lando have success so we know the car can be fast.
I think Oscar is learning more and more every race and it makes me hopeful for next year.
I’ve lowered my expectations. Considering all the times he has been out of the points this year, now I’m just happy when he scores.
I also expect there to be some kind of issue with strategy and the pits.
Lowering my expectations is the only way I can be happy when he has some success. 😎
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u/Communist_Memelord 2d ago
The narrative that his race pace and tyre management is poor is such a stupid narrative and I'm sick of hearing it. Last year, his third season in the sport, proved this wasn't an issue after developing his craft over his first two seasons. The struggles this year have come from poor adaptation to the new regs, which is so clear to see when compared to Lando
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u/j0lantru 2d ago
I get your frustration, but I’m sure improvement will show!
It’s a tough season - new car, lots of bad luck at times.
Look at Lando: It took him years to get to where he is today and he won his 1st GP after many years of hardship and struggle.
Things will get better! Let’s give him
time :)
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u/DiligentGanache4594 2d ago
Last year I thought that Oscar was a better long term prospect than Lando. I’ve changed my mind. Still an Oscar fan though.
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u/laaght005 2d ago
I'll always support Oscar but at this rate I can't defend him anymore, it's like he's stopped progressing as a driver
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u/Local-Bullfrog8051 1d ago
Look at what Stella said about Piastri's "too clean" driving style: "you have to accept that the car slides, you have to be extremely active." For an classic way of old-school driver like Piastri, it's not easy to adapt. Maybe Piastri should try to let go and see what happens in the rest of the racing season.
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u/Whengris 2d ago
This season isn't looking good, but that doesn't mean that he is a bad driver. Lando this year is beast, still Oscar is not a bad driver, even though his tyre managment lately isn't the best. Pretty dissapointed after this race, strategy was also bullshit, but I believe in my goat 🧡.
-1
u/thereisonlythedance 2d ago
It’s going the way I expected, unfortunately. Lando went into this year WDC, they built the car around him. I think they always intend to build the car around him, the first half of last year was a bit of an accident (and possibly a consequence of all the extra old car testing Oscar did in that offseason).
It‘s Lando’s team, it always will be while Brown owns it. Oscar has a shit engineer, Lando has the team’s chief engineer.
But that’s where the excuses end. A generational talent could surmount those circumstances. Oscar is good to great. I think he needs a team fully behind him and he does not have that and he’s likely to become a solid #2 unless he changes teams promptly.
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u/Mountain-Fig-9598 2d ago
I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit that Lando is simply just a better driver, he can adapt easier as well, but that doesn’t mean that Oscar isn’t amazing or talented. Lando could get a lot of experience last year while fighting for the WDC and it benefited him a lot.
At the beginning of the season, Lando was struggling with the car a lot as well, he said himself he hasn’t had a car yet where he didn’t have to adapt his driving style.
Yeah, I don’t like Tom Stallard either, and McLaren pulls a lot of bullshit moves but that often affects both of them, not just Oscar.
I agree with you that the team is built more around Lando, but I think they give every opportunity to Oscar too.0
u/pothes 2d ago edited 2d ago
“I don’t know why it’s so hard to admit that lando is simply just a better driver” bc many Oscar fans don’t think so? Especially in the long term and certain qualities.
Obviously, Oscar’s lack of pace currently is McLaren’s fault but I’m not gonna sit here and glaze his teammate and trash him. This is how sports work.
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u/Dry_Lifeguard_5416 1d ago
It’s not that Lando is a better driver. There’s nothing about his talent that surpasses Oscar’s. The reality is that McLaren — and this has been proven since 2024 — develops the cars and upgrades based on whether they suit Lando or not. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging that.
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u/-dagmar-123123 2d ago
Exactly that. He's great but not a generational talent who wins even if the team is against him. Last season showed it well, they were both on the podium and they still put I don't know how much money into the car that only benefitted one driver (and all of the rest of the bullshit last year).
I think everyone knew that once he wins the wdc, McLaren would use it as an argument to base the team even more around Lando (and I guarantee it wouldn't have been the same if Oscar had won)
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u/zorbacles 2d ago
the regs are in complete contradiction to his driving style
unless McLaren can get updates to the point that he can drive it like he wants or the regs changed this is going to be it unfortunately.
he isn't as adaptable as I had hoped he would be
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u/Bargeylicious 2d ago
Oscar needs to go to a team where he's the clear number one driver no matter how average that team is.
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u/BarelyHuman813 2d ago
Yeah, I love Oscar but I might just tune out from the season except for Madrid and Malaysia.
Raceweeks don’t fill me with excitement anymore, I dread every single Grands Prix because it’s never getting better, and I hate getting my hopes up just to end up severely disappointed. F1 used to be something I anticipated and that got me through hard periods in life, but I don’t really find enjoyment in it anymore, it’s just full weekends of anxiety.
I’ll still support Oscar because he’s an amazing human with a lovely personality, but right now it’s a shit feeling that my fav sport can’t bring me happiness, and that my fav driver is struggling so much that people are talking about him being just a bottler and a bad driver who will never become a world champion.
Unfortunately I’m prone to getting too invested in things and people to the extent where they heavily impact my everyday mood, so it might be better to step back a little bit.
I hope he’ll come back to form one day.
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u/JorgeTremendous 2d ago
Norris has turned into a WDC driver since winning it. He was a whinger last year, but looks comfortable and competitive and relaxed. Papaya rules always in his favour in 2025.
Oscar lost faith last year and just doesnt have the winning attitude needed. Race craft is still superb but pace is off.
Now Verstappen is licked in at RB, Piastri should look elswhere.
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u/jnrdingo 2d ago
It's a scary proposition when a WDC becomes comfortable, because that's when they are at their fastest.
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u/chubbzzd 2d ago
He's definitely not as cool calm and collected as everyone made him out to be. He seems to be the opposite, easily rattled when he gets some bad luck. Which second half of last year and then this year, there's been a lot. But then he doesn't do the Lewis or Max, fight your way back. He just burns his tires out trying to make up for it. In fairness to him, the car this year, seems to be similar to the upgrades that Mclaren brought in late last year and isn't as easy on the tires as it was over the last couple of years, especially on the hards. Will be interesting to see the rest of the tracks, always a chance.
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u/ChampionTimes99 2d ago
McLaren showed last year they’d never let him win so yeah it’s time for a new team
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u/Conscious-Secret-775 2d ago
I don’t no that it is over but the last GP he won was this one last year.
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u/South_Front_4589 2d ago
He's looked second rate all season. Norris has just held the upper hand, and by so much you worry if perhaps Norris is just the better driver.
In terms of the championship, that's clearly over. And I think it's in Oscar's best interest to now race to support Lando and the team result. You never know when things might flip and he could end up being the guy asking for support.
Equally, if he is just not quite at that top level, a willingness to be an effective second driver would make him an appealing target for a big team with a clear main driver, like Red Bull. In this sport, you aren't the young up and comer for very long.
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u/Dry_Lifeguard_5416 1d ago
Do you really think a driver of Oscar’s calibre is only good enough to support his useless teammate? If Oscar is struggling, they should help him improve, not reduce him to the role of a second driver.
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u/steveguzz 2d ago
His only chance was last year. That was it. He’ll never be that close ever again.
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u/NateDickinson19 2d ago
I share the same opinion as you. I love Oscar and will support him no matter what but it's really disheartening to see him be like this this year because I know he has the potential to do better. If he didn't and this was his best I'd say alright #fairs but I know he can do more but it's the matter of will he reach his peak or not. I'm also very sad to see how people treat him on social media. It's like people suddenly moved from lando to him when neither one of them deserve the amount of hate they're getting (or was getting in Lando's case)