Oscar Piastri has to be the find of the 2023 season so far. Despite being in his rookie year in a season dominated by a certain Austrian team, Oscar Piastri remains one of the few drivers who managed to secure a victory of any kind apart from Max Verstappen.

His rookie year was well received not only among fans, teammates, and colleagues but a former World Champion as well. Finnish legend Mika Hakkinen recently compared the Australian’s ability to give feedback and develop the car like Max Verstappen’s, a deciding factor that led him to score as many points as he did in his rookie year.

Oscar Piastri’s dream run with McLaren

Recently appearing on a Unibet International video, two-time champion Mika Hakkinen revealed to the whole world how he felt about Oscar Piastri. Acknowledging the challenges of being a rookie, Hakkinen notes that Piastri benefitted a lot from an amazing team principal and a team that constantly developed the car. If the car had been the same as it was in Bahrain, he notes that Oscar Piastri would have had a tough time claiming to have an amazing rookie year.

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Comparing the rookie to Max Verstappen and Red Bull, Hakkinen explains how McLaren has “developed the car to Piastri’s likings, with his driving style and comments.” Singing further praises about Oscar, the Finnish legend said, “I know he’s a cool-headed guy. He kept his head down and stayed focused. He’s progressed humbly. Having heard him chat with the engineers, I know he gives good feedback and information.”

He then singled out this performance as one of the best rookie performances he has seen in recent memory. “No ifs, ands. or buts, he did an amazing job this year.”

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Mika Hakkinen is not the only McLaren insider to sing high praises about the Australian up-and-coming superstar. Zak Brown, McLaren’s CEO is also extremely proud of the job Oscar Piastri is doing for the team.

Zak Brown’s huge praise of Oscar Piastri

On a lot of occasions, teammate Lando Norris and boss Zak Brown have both highlighted just how good of a job Piastri is doing with his feedback on the car, which allows the engineers and factory to upgrade the car as well as they did this season. Thanks to his amazing performance, McLaren immediately sought Piastri’s hands out till the end of the 2026 season.

In the announcement of the contract, Zak Brown stated,  “I’m delighted to be continuing our partnership with Oscar through to the end of 2026. He’s an incredible talent and an asset to the team so it’s fantastic to be committing to each other in the long term. Oscar is already proving what he can do out on track and has been instrumental in the turnaround we’ve had so far this season. He’s fit into the team brilliantly and is really valued by the whole McLaren Racing family.”

McLaren currently has one of the best driver pairings on the grid. If the Surrey-based team manages to put a competitive car under their seat, there’s no telling what the combination of Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris would do to the constructors’ fight.

Watch this Story: How Oscar Piastri Has Made a Scintillating Rise to the Pinnacle of Motorsport

Do you think Oscar Piastri is the Papaya army’s key to the road back to the pinnacle of the sport?