Piquet Jr: “The rookie seasons of Piastri and Antonelli? Nothing compared to that of Hamilton”

Three drivers fighting for the title The 2007 world championship was one of the most closely contested in the history of Formula 1, and the Drivers’ ranking still bears witness to how heated the fight between Ferrari and McLaren was until the end: the winner of the title was in fact Kimi Raikkonen (still the last world champion of the Maranello company), but with just one point ahead of Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, who finished equal on points. 2007, moreover, was the debut year of Hamilton himself, who then had the opportunity to make up for it in 2008, again with a race full of twists and turns on the Interlagos circuit. Comparisons with other rookies in the top teams A talent, that of the Briton, which immediately impressed Nelson Piquet Jr., son of the three-time Brazilian world champion. Speaking on the Pelas Pistas podcast, Piquet compared the debut season of the future Sir Lewis to that of other riders such as Oscar Piastri or Andrea Kimi Antonelli, believing that the latter did not have the same confidence and determination as the Englishman against a teammate of the caliber of Alonso (reigning world champion that year), in a world championship that saw the future seven-time world champion win four races, not to mention the nine consecutive podiums obtained from the first GP. A fight for the title that faded in the aforementioned Interlagos, when Hamilton was betrayed by a gearbox problem in the early stages of the race: “Hamilton’s first season was much more significant than the championships he won with his hands tied, despite having an excellent car – declared Piquet Jr. – and this is what really counts, because today we see what Oscar Piastri did in his first season against Lando, who was nothing special, he suffered a rather heavy defeat. Let’s see what Kimi Antonelli did against Russell in his first season. Then we take what Lewis did in his first season against Alonso, I think only we, those who work in the industry, can analyze it, right? The confidence he had in his first year was incredible. Hamilton, Piastri and Antonelli all have one thing in common: they started their careers in one of the “big four” teams.