Last weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix dealt Oscar Piastri another gut punch, but his manager, former F1 ace Mark Webber, is ready to dust him off and sling him back into the championship scrap.
Piastri’s campaign, once brimming with promise, has hit a late-season wobble. The McLaren charger hasn’t scored a podium since Monza back in early September.
At Interlagos, he looked nailed on for a top-three finish until the stewards slapped him with a 10-second penalty for tagging Mercedes rookie Kimi Antonelli into Turn 1, a sanction that dropped the Aussie from what could have been second place to a frustrating fifth .
As a result, Piastri is now 24 points adrift of teammate Lando Norris in the Drivers’ standings, with only three rounds left to mount a comeback.
But if anyone knows a thing or two about rebounding from hard knocks, it’s Webber – and the nine-time Grand Prix winner turned manager insists he’s ready to guide his fellow Aussie back into the fight.
Webber’s Pep Talk: Character Over Calamity
“We’ll get him turned around,” Webber told Channel 4 after last Sunday’s race. “I don’t think he’s low on motivation, put it that way.”
The former Red Bull driver, who has mentored Piastri since his junior days, said the challenge now is mental as much as physical.
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“He’s had a tough run but this is about character, fighting those deep motivations that you need at this point to come back and this is his third year in F1 so he needs to find that character to fight back,” he said.
While Piastri started the season strongly – even outpacing Norris at times – the latter has found another gear since a key suspension update to the McLaren MCL39, leaving his younger rival battling to keep up.
An Early Overachiever
Webber insists the scale of Piastri’s achievements shouldn’t be underestimated
“Of course, it’s a journey for him. Obviously, it’s been an incredible journey so early in his career to be fighting for a world title,” he explained.
“Year three is pretty unprecedented. I think it was Lewis… there haven’t been many people who have done this so early in their career.”
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Webber admitted that Piastri’s situation is as demanding as it is impressive.
“So, naturally, that’s in the equation, of course, to understand the boundaries of how that can look for him, without putting too much pressure on the situation.”
He also drew on his own experience as a late-career title contender to highlight how different their paths are.
“And also, when I went for my championship, I was an old dog. I was really old, at the end of my career; he’s early in his career. So, there are different nuances there, a bit of everything.
“An arm around him, encouragement here and there, opportunities, you can see his pecker’s up, he’s working hard, and it’s early in his career.”
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With Las Vegas up next, Webber’s strategy is clear: keep Piastri’s spirits high and his foot on the gas. The Aussie prodigy’s title charge might be “unprecedented,” but it’s not over.
But as the title fight tightens, his mentor knows it’s time for grit, not glamour. And if Webber has anything to do with it, the young Australian will be back swinging under Vegas’ neon lights.
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