Oscar Piastri backed to return 'with a vengeance' after 'painful' Lando Norris defeat

Oscar Piastri has been backed to return F1 this season "with a vengeance" following his agonising title defeat to McLaren team-mate Lando Norris last year.

Piastri appeared on course to become Australia's first champion since Alan Jones in 1980, following his grand chelem Dutch Grand Prix triumph, which saw him open up a 34-point lead over Norris, who had suffered a rare retirement in that race.

After that point, however, the season started to unravel for Piastri, who led the title race for 15 consecutive rounds until being deposed by Norris with four grands prix remaining.

The 24-year-old eventually lost out to Norris by 13 points, even sliding to third in the drivers' standings following an astonishing end to the season from Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who came within two points of clinching a fifth successive title.

Assessing how Piastri will fare this season, former F1 driver and Sky Sports co-commentator Martin Brundle, said: "He'll come back with a vengeance. To be honest, it was partly painful, partly brilliant for him last year. He learned a lot.

"I think it's openly accepted that on the really low-grip circuits, he's not getting the best out of the car and out of the tyres, so he knows he's got to fix that.

"But some of the victories he had were so dominant, so impressive, and I think he'll take a lot from that.

"I'm sure it was painful in the end for him, and I think that will be a driver.

"We've observed him. He's an incredibly bright lad, and he's clearly competitive. He's a worker, and I think he'll come back having made a big step forward."

Piastri: 'Lessons to be learned'

Piastri concedes that this season will be different from anything he has previously experienced, particularly with regard to energy management.

Under the new wide-sweeping regulations, the cars are powered by a 50-50 split in combustion and electric, and the battery is now solely MGU-K, providing 350kW compared to the previous 120kW.

Following a reasonable run in testing, bar a fuel system issue that confined him to the garage on Thursday afternoon after a solid morning, Piastri knows the forthcoming campaign will be "a challenge and exciting".

He said: "You know, there are a lot of areas where you can be a point of difference and make a point of difference, but you've got to put in the hard work to make that happen.

"There are a lot of challenges for all of us up and down the grid. There are going to be some aspects of these cars that we've never really had to do before in our careers, so there are plenty of lessons to be learned."