Will Oscar Piastri become Australia's greatest F1 driver?

However, this blend of characteristics set him up well for the present and also the future. To me, the Melbourne-born ace is driving beyond his years and experience of three seasons, especially in comparison to team-mate Norris who is in his seventh year and also with nine grand prix victories.

Of course during Norris’ time in the championship, the McLaren hasn’t been as competitive. However, there have still been times this season where the Brit has dropped the ball; from a significant shunt into the wall during qualifying in Saudi Arabia to a clumsy misjudgement in Canada resulting in a DNF.

Don’t get me wrong, nobody is perfect in this sport. Both papaya drivers went into the gravel during the damp Australian season opener, but it was Piastri who lost control and found himself spinning off the track and into the wet grass in front of his home crowd to rejoin in last place. There was also the 10-second-time-penalty he hero picked up for an infringement behind the safety car at the British Grand Prix that cost him the win.

However, for me, it is still Piastri that shows more maturity when these events unfold. He’s the definition of keeping calm under pressure, at times reminding you of an ice-cold Finnish driver, like Mika Häkkinen or Kimi Räikkönen.

So what does Piastri need to do to become Australia’s greatest motor sport icon?

Well, that’s a matter of opinion. Do you base this off wins, championship titles, or the story of how they found their successes? The argument of who is the greatest of all time will always be subjective, but it’s still a conversation we as motor sport fans all love to have.

As mentioned, Piastri is now equal with Webber if you want to decide this from victories, and one clear of Daniel Ricciardo who had eight wins during his time in F1. Only two other Aussies have won grands prix during the past 75 years, and both of those are drivers’ champions.

Alan Jones is next on the list, with 12 wins and 24 podiums from his 116 starts across the ‘70s and ‘80s. Jones won the drivers’ title in 1980 with Williams, and became the first title-winner for the team thanks to his raw talents on-track as well as his bullish and straight-talking manner off it.

He had an offer to join Ferrari for the 1978 season until it was withdrawn in favour of Gilles Villeneuve, but eventually united with the powers of Frank Williams and Patrick Head to make history.

The other legendary Australian is Sir Jack Brabham, a three-time world champion. For many, it will be near-impossible to ever come close to what Brabham achieved, not just as a driver but also as a team owner and what he gave to the sport.

His background in engineering made him an incredibly valuable asset, and helped create race cars that went against the status quo – like the revolutionary rear-engined Cooper T43. ‘Black Jack’ also knew how to race hard behind the wheel, taking his first win at the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix in the same year he won his first title.

1960 also proved spectacular, with Brabham winning five consecutive races in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Britain and Portugal to maintain his title for a second consecutive year.

He stepped away from Cooper to found his own eponymous team, and by 1966 had done what many thought impossible by taking it to a championship – a feat that until this day still hasn’t been replicated. Although many speculated Brabham was too old to stay at the top, with the Aussie even showing up with a fake beard and walking cane ahead of that year’s Dutch Grand Prix, he not only proved he still ‘had it’ but that he was on another level when it came to man and machine.

It seems unlikely that Piastri will ever fill those shoes, as Brabham really was unique in that aspect, but I believe he has what it takes to far exceed the number of victories the latter tallied up (14) and even take a handful of drivers’ championships over the next decade or two. He’s intelligent, a fair-but-tough driver and quick. Very quick.