Qualified in 5th and finished 4th, that sounds like a good result for a driver in his second season in F1, right? It may be, but not for Oscar Piastri it isn’t. With his output in 2023 as proof, we know the Australian is extremely talented and highly competitive. So after finishing the previous season on such a high, the McLaren man expects to be fighting for podiums in every race. However, that hasn’t been the case so far in the opening two rounds and there is some frustration building up. In the Saudi Arabian GP, Piastri was frustrated by two aspects and one of them stemmed from Lewis Hamilton.

The Brit qualified behind Piastri but gained track position when the entire grid pitted for hard tires and he decided to stay out. The Mercedes man and Piastri’s teammate were the only two who drivers decided to stay out on the mediums and extend their stint. After the pitstop, Piastri was right on Hamilton’s tail with fresher and faster hard tires. However, because of the MCL38’s shortcomings, the McLaren man couldn’t pass Hamilton during the race.

This scenario made Piastri lose precious time which he could not recover at the end and only finished in 4th. A good result but not without frustrations and that’s how he summarized his race in the post-race interview. He said, “I don’t think we could’ve done too much more. A frustrating 20 laps stuck behind Lewis. In the end, that was the most we could’ve done. We didn’t have the pace of the cars ahead. But a good result with P4.”

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It’s not easy taking on the seven-time world champion. However, there’s one person who believes Piastri could’ve taken his place if it wasn’t for the Alpine fiasco.

Peter Windsor paints a hypothetical scenario where Oscar Piastri replaces Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes

Ever since Hamilton dropped the bombshell, almost every worthy F1 driver has been linked with the soon-to-be vacant Mercedes seat. Talking about worth, Oscar Piastri has proved his and then some. So naturally, he was also on the list of drivers who could replace the outgoing Brit.

However, according to Peter Windsor, because of the path Piastri has chosen for his career, the Mercedes isn’t an option. However, had he driven for Alpine in 2023, he would’ve had a clear shot.

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Windsor said, “If Oscar had stayed at Alpine and his teammate had been Esteban Ocon, I think he would’ve shown up Ocon in 2023. Then I said last year, he would’ve been in pretty good shape then to have got a decent drive (at Alpine).” 

Basing his hypothesis on the assumption that Piastri performs better than Esteban Ocon, he added, “Think about this. Had he done that, who’d you think would be on the top of Mercedes’ list now to replace Lewis Hamilton?”

WATCH THIS STORY: Is Oscar Piastri Already Justifying His Talent By Performing Better Than Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren?

However, that’s what life is. Maybe this path will bring him immense glory and with his ambition, we’re sure he will leave a lasting mark in the F1 world.