Talent, emotional intelligence and a lifetime of sacrifice have made Oscar Piastri a F1 title favorite

If the unit of this year's rubric combat is getting to Oscar Piastri, helium isn't showing it successful his interactions with the media.

Even successful the aftermath of his caller wheel-to-wheel contact with Lando Norris astatine the Singapore Grand Prix -- an incidental that could inactive person ramifications connected the drivers' title conflict betwixt the 2 McLaren teammates -- helium was remarkably stoic arsenic helium faced the written press. With his McLaren overalls inactive drenched successful sweat from 90 minutes of racing astatine 1 of Formula 1's astir physically demanding events, Piastri resisted journalists' attempts to crook up the vigor connected his simmering emotions.

Asked if the collision, which was a effect of Norris attempting to walk Piastri connected the wrong successful the opening 3 corners, would alteration the mode helium races his teammate going forward, his single-word effect was wholly void of emotion.

"No."

OK, understandable, but however astir this: Was helium astatine each acrophobic that Norris, who was not reprimanded by McLaren for the interaction arsenic per the team's interior rules, mightiness beryllium getting preferential treatment?

"No," again without truthful overmuch arsenic a quiver successful his voice.

Right, but is helium disquieted that arsenic the unit ramps up successful the rubric fight, it mightiness go hard for the squad to stay just and impartial?

"No," helium said flatly. "I'm not."

So measured was each effect that it was intolerable to gauge Piastri's existent thoughts. Over squad vigor during the race, helium had rather intelligibly raised his objections to Norris' move, but erstwhile fixed the accidental to twist the weapon successful beforehand of the world's media, helium declined.

It's a property trait that is arsenic compelling arsenic it is disarming. It speaks to a level of maturity belying Piastri's 24 years -- conscionable 3 of which person been spent racing successful F1 -- but should not beryllium confused with indifference. While immoderate drivers rant and rage arsenic events conspire against them, Piastri seems to conspire against the events.

His contention technologist Tom Stallard -- the dependable astatine the different extremity of the pit-to-car vigor during races -- believes Piastri chooses his words cautiously arsenic helium knows it tin magnitude to a competitory advantage.

"He's similar that due to the fact that helium chooses to beryllium similar that, and due to the fact that that's thing that helium values successful himself and arsenic an individual, truthful helium goes retired of his mode to beryllium similar that," Stallard tells ESPN. "Maybe there's immoderate quality and nurture successful determination arsenic well, but I deliberation it's a conscious happening and it's thing that he's worked connected precise successfully.

"I mean, he's a quality [so the emotions are there], but he's conscious of what emotions are going to beryllium affirmative and what are going to beryllium negative, and he's conscionable incredibly focused connected achieving what helium wants to achieve, to the constituent wherever helium volition power that benignant of happening to guarantee helium gets there."

McLaren squad main Andrea Stella, who worked intimately with greats specified arsenic Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso during their careers successful F1, is besides of the content that Piastri maintains power to summation a competitory advantage.

"If you privation to speech astir maturity successful handling emotions, this is simply a relation of age, but it is besides a relation of however you are framed from a young property -- similar what is your personality," Stella says to ESPN successful a abstracted interview. "And I deliberation Oscar, precise clearly, helium has a mode of limiting the mode successful which the emotions make wrong himself and the mode successful which the emotions get disclosed and made visible.

"I deliberation this is simply a precise antithetic conception to not having emotions. I deliberation this would beryllium wholly incorrect. It's conscionable the consciousness of your emotions, the mode you respond, however disposable you marque it. I deliberation this is much the trait successful which Oscar appears arsenic a controlled person; it's not successful the emotions themselves oregon the strength of the emotions that are generated."

A champion successful the making

Quite wherever that trait came from is undoubtedly complex, but arsenic Stella points out, it was apt formed astatine a young age.

Piastri's household archer stories of a ...