Nico Rosberg and Jacques Villeneuve believe Oscar Piastri\u2019s standing in the F1 paddock has taken a hit, claiming the McLaren driver has faded from the spotlight after a difficult run of form.<\/p>\n
After last season\u2019s slump cost Piastri the Drivers\u2019 title and also second place in the standings, the McLaren driver needed a good start to the new season. It has been anything but.<\/p>\n
Oscar Piastri\u2019s F1 value questioned by world champions<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust<\/p>\n Although Piastri<\/a> bounced back from his back-to-back retirements in Australia and China with podiums in Japan and Miami, he has not featured in the fight for a top-three result since.<\/p>\n He has, however, been in the stewards\u2019 offices a couple of times. He was given a 10-second penalty for causing a collision with Alex Albon in Canada and a five-second penalty, albeit a controversial one, for speeding in the pit lane in Monaco.<\/p>\n While he did have a penalty-free race in Barcelona, he just didn\u2019t have the pace to challenge his teammate Lando Norris either in qualifying or in the race. Norris finished third, while Piastri was 35 seconds down the road in fifth place.<\/p>\n \u201cNot going too well for him as of late,\u201d Rosberg told Sky Sports. \u201cHis market value has taken a bit of a plunge in the last weeks and months.<\/p>\n \u201cA bit unexpected because last year he was really on a par with Lando all the time, and this year Lando has jumped ahead somewhat.<\/p>\n \u201cWith these new regulations, new cars, Oscar is not feeling too comfortable yet. So it\u2019s a bit strange and he really needs to work on that now because he\u2019s falling down.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s a sentiment echoed by his fellow pundit Villeneuve.<\/p>\n \u201cWell we saw the trend last year. Halfway through the season he was the talk of the paddock, like it\u2019s great they signed him because he showed it in Formula 3, Formula 2 \u2013 amazing,\u201d the Canadian said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then he collapsed, and his form went down, and he hasn\u2019t recovered. It\u2019s really odd.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd nobody\u2019s talking about him anymore. And that\u2019s in the space of what? Like six months? Even less.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s very odd. But like we often say, you\u2019re only as good as your last race. That\u2019s what\u2019s tough with sports.<\/p>\n \u201cUnless you\u2019re Lewis and you\u2019ve won so many championships and so on. Then, okay, you get there\u2019s something you can lean on.<\/p>\n \u201cBut otherwise, two, three bad races, and okay, move on.\u201d<\/p>\n Go deeper: Conclusions and Driver Ratings from the Barcelona GP<\/p>\n Barcelona GP conclusions: Lewis Hamilton rediscovered, hidden Russell defeat, new Leclerc crisis<\/a><\/p>\n Barcelona GP driver ratings: Hamilton perfect 10 as Russell flatters to deceive<\/a><\/p>\n Piastri, though, is in at least one conversation \u2013 that of who could replace Max Verstappen if he left Red Bull.<\/p>\n The Australian has been widely tipped as the lead candidate to fill Verstappen\u2019s seat, although both McLaren chief Zak Brown and the Australian have denied the rumours.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s news to me,\u201d Piastri said last month. \u201cThere\u2019s obviously not been any discussions or anything, but it\u2019s flattering.<\/p>\n \u201cNot really much more than that.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully,\u201d he added, \u201cit proves my stock as a driver, which is a nice thing.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I\u2019m very happy with where I am, and I\u2019ve got a lot of confidence in this team that we are going to be able to win races and hopefully championships in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n