Mario Andretti Calls Out Oscar Piastri’s Killer Instinct: 'McLaren Has Got It Together'

Saajan Jogia | Jan 3, 2025

Oct 18, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; McLaren Formula 1 Team driver Oscar Piastri (81) of Team Australia walks through the track entrance before practice for the 2024 US Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Mario Andretti, a director on the board of the new Cadillac Formula 1 team, has praised Oscar Piastri for his "class" and "awareness" of his position during the 2024 season, which saw him contribute greatly to McLaren's first Constructors' Championship victory since 1998.

Formula 1 is set to welcome its eleventh team in 2026 with the entry of Cadillac, following a lengthy bid process that was finally accepted toward the end of the 2024 season. This came after General Motors announced an expanded commitment to the project. Andretti will provide guidance on driver selection and technical matters, collaborating closely with Andretti Global, the team's racing partner.

Andretti, a 1978 Formula 1 champion follows the sport closely and has noted Piastri for the way he handled the team orders situation last year, when his teammate Lando Norris was involved in a championship battle with Red Bull's Max Verstappen. Piastri won his maiden Grand Prix in Hungary last year, followed by a flawless race in Baku where he fended off a strong threat from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc. Andretti was asked if Piastri has a killer instinct, to which he told RacingNews365:

"Yes, in my opinion, he has that quality.

"I really liked what Oscar demonstrated [in 2024], and also the fact that he is a team player, you could see that in Brazil [when he let Norris past in the sprint race].

"He figured: 'It's the end of the season, my team-mate is in a better position [for the title] and he yielded and showed everyone that: 'yeah, you know what, I'll let him by and hope that the favour is returned sometime down the road.'

"To me, that showed a lot of class and awareness of what his position is."

The 2024 Constructors' Championship battle extended to the final race between McLaren and Ferrari, but it was McLaren's use of team orders mid-season that enabled the Papaya outfit to maximize points and clinch the title. Reflecting on the dramatic turnaround in McLaren's performance from the start of the season to its strong finish, Andretti added:

"If things were easy, they could make it right all the time, but they did their best for what they felt at that moment.

"It is hard to predict end results, but McLaren has got it together with Andrea Stella coming on, and with Zak Brown there, it is really contagious. 

"The tea is in a good place to fight for championships now and in the future, and this bodes well for F1 itself. [sic]

"Just look at the beginning [of 2024], and the progress McLaren made, it is something to be very happy about and as a fan watching, credit should go where it is due."