Oscar Piastri praised as “calmest head” in F1 as Max Verstappen comparison made

Ex-F1 driver Jolyon Palmer has praised Oscar Piastri for having the “calmest head” in F1.

Piastri presently leads the F1 drivers’ championship by 10 factors.

The McLaren driver has received 5 of the opening 9 races, three greater than teammate Lando Norris.

Piastri has loved a exceptional turnaround in comparison with final 12 months, notably in qualifying.

In 2025, Piastri has out-qualified Norris 5 instances – yet another than the whole thing of final 12 months.

Writing on the official F1 web site, Palmer hailed Piastri for a way he’s handled stress.

“Oscar additionally appears to have the calmest head, definitely that I can bear in mind, in Formulation 1,” Palmer wrote.

“It’s nonetheless early levels in his profession and we haven’t but seen him underneath title-deciding pressures – that’ll come later this 12 months – however the man is insanely calm with no matter is occurring round him.

“Kimi Raikkonen was often known as the Iceman in Formulation 1, however I’ve even seen him extra animated than Oscar.”

Piastri and Verstappen in contrast

Max Verstappen had a tough weekend in Barcelona.

Max Verstappen was hit with a 10-second time penalty and three penalty factors after he collided with George Russell intentionally.

Verstappen was irked by Pink Bull’s choice to place him on laborious tyres after which being pushed off the observe by Russell.

Palmer believes a key benefit Piastri has over Verstappen is his skill to “keep so composed” and thus not squander any large factors alternatives.

“This will solely be a power to have the ability to keep so composed – I’ve but to see him make stress errors and you may’t think about him squandering factors as a result of pink mist, as Max Verstappen did on Sunday,” he added.

“He’s not been excellent this season. In Melbourne he was unfortunate to lose a heap of factors going off within the rain, however he was napping for the Imola begin when ge obtained handed by Verstappen, and was a bit scrappy in Monaco too. There have been sufficient probabilities for Lando to remain within the hunt, and the title battle stays shut, with Oscar simply 10 factors to the nice.

“However from what I’ve seen to date, Oscar completely has the make-up of a champion, in a season the place he’s turned his weaknesses into strengths.”