Will silent assassin Piastri keep quiet after missed chance?

We call Oscar Piastri the silent assassin, because his youthful looks and shy smile belie the inner steel and sheer determination of the soon-to-be 24-year-old, as he goes into his third year in Formula One intent on becoming the third Australian world champion after the great Jack Brabham and Alan Jones.

- David Tremayne

After the Australian Grand Prix on March 16, which he so badly wanted to win, he was not smiling. He might not actually have been grimacing—he would make one hell of a professional poker player—but inside the anger was raging, as it was within his small support coterie and many of his fans.

After the need for McLaren to impose the so-called Papaya Rules team orders with their drivers at times in 2024, Piastri supporters knew that he needed to make a clear statement as quickly as possible this season. He's spent the winter redefining many things, not least getting his tires perfectly prepared for qualifying, his diet and his fitness.

They had watched his more experienced teammate Lando Norris nip him for pole position and him then lose second place to arch-rival Max Verstappen as Norris won the start.

It took him 17 laps to catch and pass the Red Bull when the Dutchman's worn tires compromised him in Turn 3.

Thereafter he hunted Norris down; by lap 29 there were only six-tenths between them. But on lap 30 as he built up to an attack, the dreaded order came, "Hold positions" and the press room groaned.