Speaking with Alex Brundle to a packed London audience at Motor Sport’s Cinema Club screening of John Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix film, Brabham stated Piastri will have to dig deep like never before if he wants to come out on top this year.
“Oscar’s got that chance,” he said. “He’s got one of the fastest cars, and he proved himself.
“Everyone was talking about Lando, sort of not being strong mentally and so forth. And I’d say that’s changed a bit, hasn’t it?
“I think Lando stepped up, and I think Oscar stepped down, for sure. Baku was a big moment for Oscar [when Piastri crashed twice and jumped the start].
“He made way too many mistakes [in Baku], which is so ‘un-Oscar’. So, the pressure is definitely building, because he doesn’t make those mistakes unless under pressure.”
Brabham was speaking ahead of a Motor Sport screening of Grand Prix
Piastri enjoyed a reputation as the star junior driver as he rose through the ranks, but Brabham highlighted that, now he’s hit the very peak of the motor sport world, the Aussie is being presented with challenges the like of which he’s never seen.
“Oscar’s probably going through a phase in his life that’s probably not dealt with before,” he said.
