‘The difference’: Oscar Piastri’s secret weapon in bid to become F1 champion

Oscar Piastri has a chance to land a killer blow this weekend as his secret Aussie weapon looms as a big advantage against his F1 rivals.

Mark Webber’s experience could be the deciding factor for Australian Formula 1 sensation Oscar Piastri in this year’s Grand Prix season.

Webber, a nine-time Grand Prix winner who led the F1 championship in 2010, is now Piastri’s manager and mentor.

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Webber came agonisingly close to winning the title, but ultimately fell short during a lonely fight at the top.

The boost provided by Webber’s guidance has not been lost on Kiwi V8 Supercar legend Greg Murphy, a four-time winner of the Bathurst 1000 now coaching up-and-coming drivers.

Mark Webber has tasted victory in Formula 1.

Murphy told the Apex Hunters United motorsport podcast hosted by pro racers Scott Pye and Elliot Barbour it was clear Mark Webber’s wisdom “is the difference” between Piastri and rivals including Lando Norris.

“Look at Oscar Piastri,” Murphy said.

“Mark Webber is the difference in there. Show me another F1 driver at the moment that’s got a ‘Mark Webber’ doing what Mark Webber is doing.”

The Supercars legend said Webber “is totally in tune, networked, has the phone numbers, can talk to anybody, has the respect, [and] can be in the McLaren team in the way he is, because they want Oscar to perform at his absolute best.

“It’s so obvious.”

Oscar Piastri of Australia and McLaren celebrate victory in the F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia. Photo: Mark Sutton – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

Pye, who won a Supercars race supporting the F1 at Albert Park in 2018, agreed that “Webber is so competitive and ruthless”.

“He’ll be telling Oscar, now’s your time to sink your teeth in,” he said on the podcast.

“Finish him.

“You’ve got your foot in his throat … I think that’s one of Mark’s strengths.”

The racer said Webber’s effect can be seen in Piastri’s decision to focus on his racing, rather than building a public profile through media such as Netflix’s Drive to Survive series.

While some drivers, including New Zealand’s Liam Lawson, have courted fame, Pye said “you look at Oscar and they have certainly not prioritised the fame side”.

Oscar Piastri is backed by Aussie F1 great Mark Webber. Photo: Kym Illman/Getty Images

Four-time F1 champ Max Verstappen praised Webber’s work with Piastri following the Aussie’s sensational victory in Saudi Arabia, where Verstappen said “with Mark by his side, he’s helping him a lot”.

“It’s great. People learn from their own careers – that’s what I had with my dad [Jos Verstappen], and Mark [Webber] is advising Oscar.”

I’ve met Webber a couple of times recently in his role as an ambassador for Porsche – a brand that he drove to a World Endurance Championship title in 2015.

Mark Webber and David McCowen at a Porsche event.

While I can’t share what the retired racer says about Oscar in informal settings, I will say there is a steel in his eyes that suggests Webber has unfinished business in F1 and that he is determined to help Piastri get the job done.

Webber’s experience at the highest levels of motorsport included a golden opportunity to win the F1 championship in 2010, when he was ultimately defeated by Red Bull teammate Sebastian Vettel.

Mark Webber chats with former manager Flavio Briatore at the Australian Grand Prix.

The Aussie racer was let down by his manager and mentor, Flavio Briatore.

Briatore was the team boss during Michael Schumacher’s early F1 success at the Benetton Formula team, which became the Renault F1 outfit.

When Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr crashed out of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix in suspicious circumstances, Briatore was accused of ordering the young Brazilian to crash deliberately to help orchestrate an unlikely win for Renault teammate Fernando Alonso.

Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr with Renault F1 team boss Flavio Briatore. Photo: AFP PHOTO/BERTRAND GUAY

The FIA smashed Briatore with a lifetime ban from F1 in September 2009, a few weeks after Webber won his first Grand Prix in Germany.

Webber backed Briatore and told the press “I won’t work with anyone else”.

Which meant he was fighting a lonely battle against Vettel, Alonso and Lewis Hamilton in the 2010 season – a year where the Aussie led the standings after victories in Spain, Monaco, Silverstone and Hungary, before ultimately finishing third in the standings.

McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton of Britain, Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel of Germany and Red Bull driver Mark Webber of Australia in 2010. Photo: AP photo/Fernando Hernandez

Now Piastri leads the championship.

And Webber is in his corner.

Briatore’s lifetime ban was eventually quashed, opening the door for a return to F1 managing drivers including Alonso, whose carefully orchestrated exit from Renault’s Alpine F1 team allowed Piastri to secure a seat with a better team at McLaren.

Webber’s connection to Briatore gave Piastri the best possible start in F1.

When 1980 F1 champion Alan Jones says Piastri has “all the attributes that you need to be a world champion”, his manager is one of them.

Norris’ manager and mentor, Mark Berryman, does not know how it feels to be in a brutal title world championship fight against a talented teammate and proven champions.

But you can bet that Webber has replayed his 2010 battle with Vettel, Hamilton and Alonso over and over again.

And right now, like Murphy said, “Webber is the difference”.