BARRETTO: The pressure was on Piastri after the Alpine/McLaren tug of war – so how’s his rookie season going?

Oscar Piastri entered his rookie campaign with great expectations on his youthful 22-year-old shoulders.

McLaren had thrown the proverbial kitchen sink at securing his signature, tempting him away from Alpine after a legal battle that went all the way to F1’s Contract Recognition Board. To have two teams turning to lawyers to sign you, despite you never having turned a wheel in anger in Formula 1, is quite something.