Ex-F1 Driver Asserts Oscar Piastri Won’t Waste Points like ‘Angry’ Max Verstappen

Former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer applauded Oscar Piastri's calm approach amid Max Verstappen's Spanish GP fallout.

Ex-F1 Driver Asserts Oscar Piastri Won’t Waste Points like ‘Angry’ Max Verstappen

Oscar Piastri and Max Verstappen (Via IMAGO)

McLaren star Oscar Piastri has emerged as the favorite for the 2025 F1 world title. After being on the sidelines against teammate Lando Norris for two seasons, the Australian driver has proved his worth to the paddock. Following Max Verstappen‘s fallout at the Spanish GP, former F1 driver Jolyon Palmer cited the key difference between the two drivers.

At the Spanish GP, Max Verstappen ended up colliding with George Russell in the final stages of the race. The incident sparked massive controversy in the paddock. With Nico Rosberg demanding Verstappen to be disqualified.

The Red Bull star was handed a ten-second penalty which dropped him down to tenth place, a major blow for his title bid. Verstappen sits in third place in the standings behind Piastri and Norris. The Dutchman will have to recover points after his frustration caused him to lose points in Barcelona. While Jolyon Palmer believes that Oscar Piastri would never be in such a situation.

Palmer acknowledged that Piastri was yet to truly face the pressure of a championship battle in Formula 1. However, the former Renault driver made it clear that the Australian would never waste points like Max Verstappen’s Spanish GP incident, where anger seemed to have taken the better of the Red Bull driver.

I still have to see him make mistakes due to pressure, and you can’t imagine him wasting points because of anger like Max Verstappen did on Sunday.

Jolyon Palmer said, as quoted by FormulaPassion

Oscar Piastri a ‘calm’ driver in Formula 1

Formula 1 is all about emotions. Drivers do not hold back what they feel when they’re racing at over two hundred miles an hour. The adrenaline rush often leads to some aggressive incidents, be it on-track or comments on the team radio. Max Verstappen is infamous for his heart-on-sleeve behavior, as the Dutchman does not shy away from expressing his anger or frustration.

Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri (via XPB images)
Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri (via XPB images)

On the other hand, Oscar Piastri appears to be an exception in the paddock. The McLaren star does not rant on the team radio no matter how difficult the situation might be. Rather, Piastri seems focused to continue without being too frustrated. Jolyon Palmer asserted that the Australian driver was one of the calmer heads on the grid. Though, the Briton claimed that Piastri will face his ultimate pressure test in the latter half of this season.

He seems to have a calmer head, certainly that I remember, in Formula 1. He is still at the beginning of his career and we have not yet seen him under pressure for the title. That will come later this year, but this man is incredibly calm compared to whatever happens around him.

Jolyon Palmer added

Certainly, Oscar Piastri’s calmer approach does not go unnoticed. This trait in the 24-year-old could be massively beneficial for his career. Not letting anger get the better of him will allow Piastri to not end up making any rash mistakes. A cool head always leads to better results compared to a driver who keeps ranting on the radio. However, Oscar Piastri will need to make sure that he can continue this approach even during the latter half of the title fight this season.

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