23 December 2023 , 08:00
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Oscar Piastri looks to have proven Damon Hill very wrong about his high-profile move to make his Formula 1 debut with McLaren.
He joined the Woking-based squad in a very high-profile move which sparked a legal row between his new employer and rivals Alpine, who he was leaving. The Aussie had come up through the team's driver academy but decided to leave to make his F1 bow with McLaren.
But his new team missed car development targets and started the 2023 season terribly. After two pointless races to start the season, 1996 world champion Hill suggested the young Aussie might be regretting his decision.
"He probably thought McLaren was the best option, the better environment for him," said the Sky Sports F1 pundit in March. "Alpine are good at the moment - they don't set the world on fire, but they look more competitive than McLaren. So yes, maybe he does regret that.
"But on the other hand, he is now competing against the highly-rated Lando [Norris]. It's a strange thing in our sport, that as a driver you are judged on your performance against your team-mate. You can be in a less competitive car, but all you need is to be faster than a man who some say is a future world champion."
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Piastri did not manage to do that. He was beaten by Norris in all the main metrics as the Brit used his experience to get more out of his car when McLaren made the upgrades which transformed it into a much more competitive machine.
But Piastri was no slouch and enjoyed one of the best F1 rookie seasons since Lewis Hamilton burst onto the scene. The 22-year-old finished ninth in the championship with 97 points, scoring two Grand Prix podiums and winning a Sprint race in the process.
By the end of the year, few people had a bad word to say about the McLaren starlet. And, with the benefit of hindsight, Hill had also changed his tune as he and Sky Sports colleague Anthony Davidson waxed lyrical about the former Formula 2 champion.
"He's done fantastically well to cope with all those [new tracks]," admitted Hill. "You are at a massive disadvantage if you've never been to track against let's say your team-mate who has been there before."
And former Super Aguri racer Davidson added: "Piastri, he's one of those drivers, a rookie as well, he's had a phenomenal season, really taken the fight to Lando Norris, very close in qualifying between the two of them always."