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Sport Nation
Whateley: Will team orders thwart Piastri's dream?
Gerard Whateley • March 13th, 2025 10:12 am
We live in the age of the mega event … and in this town, they are getting bigger all the time.
The Boxing Day Test broke records dating back to the Bradman era.
The Australian Open continues to soar.
The Formula 1 Grand Prix begins its build with the Fan Festival before the action heads to the Albert Park track.
And central to it all is Oscar Piastri and the unrequited dream of the local driver winning the home GP.
Piastri shares both a mantle and a demeanour with Jess Fox and Arianne Titmus… blending excellence and likability as Ash Barty did before.
The admiration is universal and the emotional investment in success is felt across the sporting community.
For the most part, this is how we love our Australian sporting heroes. Gracious and humble and fiercely driven to be the best.
It’s impossible not to be drawn to Piastri’s cause this weekend and the craving to see him win.
It draws in memories of Mark Webber puttering around in his Minardi for a stunning fifth in his race debut.
Daniel Ricciardo stood on the podium here but was stripped of his second-placed finish hours later because of a technical infringement.
And Piastri’s first chase for the top three was thwarted by the dreaded team orders.
It’s the rare privilege - and I’m sure to some degree burden - to shoulder the hopes of hundreds of thousands on track in the coming days… all pushing in the same direction.
Our best tennis players have this stage of unadulterated support at the Australian Open, and it’s Piastri’s birthright for as long as he holds the seat – and he seems to carry it lightly.
The regard in which the 23-year-old is held and the talent he possesses is best illustrated in McLaren’s multi-year contract extension with Piastri. A deal both will hope brings a Drivers Championship during its span.
Who knows what happens in the first race of the season – whether it's carnage or a lottery… especially if the forecast rain hits.
But the year Piastri wins at Albert Park will be a defining achievement in Australian sport.
