10 October 2023 , 17:57
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Eddie Jordan picked out Oscar Piastri as "the only real emerging threat" to Max Verstappen in the coming years.
The Dutchman secured his status as a three-time Formula 1 world champion at the weekend. And it was his simplest success to date with him and Red Bull in a class of their own throughout this 2023 season.
Charles Leclerc was his closest challenger last year but Ferrari have struggled for race pace all season. And even his 2021 title rival Lewis Hamilton has been nowhere near Verstappen - and is in the midst of a personal victory drought now almost two years long.
In fact, McLaren have emerged from the pack to be recognised as the team closest to Red Bull right now. The Woking-based outfit has scored back-to-back double podiums in the last two races – a remarkable achievement considering it missed car development targets for the beginning of the campaign.
Piastri finished second to mark his best result to date in a stellar rookie season. And it meant a huge points haul for the Aussie race, who had won the Sprint race over Verstappen the previous day.
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Impressed by what he has seen, former F1 team owner Jordan is convinced about the 22-year-old's future. "You have to think about McLaren," he told TalkSPORT when asked who might be best placed to challenge Verstappen and Red Bull in the coming years.
"McLaren at the moment – and Oscar Piastri is just fabulous. He is the only real one that I can see emerging that could take it to Verstappen in years to come.
"And let's hope that happens because, for a young kid, rookie of the year, to come in and win that Sprint race on Saturday and finish second yesterday, was simply staggering. And I have to say I have the height of respect for this kid and I think he's got a massive future. Let's see what happens."
Safe to say McLaren agree that Piastri has a bright future ahead. The team tied him down to a new contract last month which will keep him racing in Papaya until the end of 2026, perhaps in a bid to ward of potential interest from Red Bull.
Karun Chandhok thinks that was an excellent move. "I think McLaren and Zak [Brown, CEO] have played a blinder by locking down Oscar because they got Lando [Norris] for the next two years, and Oscar has proved to be a little star, hasn't he?" said the Sky Sports pundit.