McLaren chief spots signs that Max Verstappen's F1 fate may be inevitable
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has already seen enough from Oscar Piastri to believe that he has what it takes to reach the very pinnacle of Formula 1.
The Aussie racer has so far enjoyed a stellar first season in the sport. Leaving the Alpine junior programme to join midfield rivals McLaren in such a public manner was a great risk, but one which has paid off.
He sits ninth in the championship, having amassed 83 points from his first 17 F1 Grand Prix weekends. And all but five of those have come from the last eight races, as McLaren were woefully off the pace in the early rounds.
But, given a quicker car, Piastri has risen to the challenge. His best results to date came in the two most recent rounds – a first podium by finishing third in Japan before going one better last weekend with second place in Qatar.
Speaking about his driver to reporters, including , team boss Stella believes Piastri has all the traits required in an F1 title-winner. "Drivers that have the potential to become world champion need to have a natural speed, which we saw straight away," he explained.
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"Then they need to have the head, the capacity, the capability to use their talent, which Oscar establishes in an interesting way. He keeps his head very clean of disturbances. It seems like he has a strong aptitude to learn, because he doesn't distract himself from learning, from focusing, and we saw these straight away, also in testing, and then in the early races of the season.
"It became more apparent, as the car became competitive, that he can compete at the top of Formula 1. So his natural talent, his capability to learn, and then he is a good person [with] a set of values and ethics. I think these three elements are part of a world champion craft that we can see in Oscar."
Stella is the latest in a growing line of high-ranking people in F1 predicting Piastri will soon be causing a headache for Max Verstappen. The Dutchman's title success this season has been a relative walk in the park, but McLaren's improvement has arguably put Piastri and Lando Norris closer to Red Bull than anyone at any point this season.
If the Woking-based squad can hit the ground running in 2024, both drivers will be well-placed to give Verstappen a sterner test. Former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan is one of those who thinks the "fabulous" Aussie racer can go all the way, saying earlier this week that the 22-year-old "is the only real one that I can see emerging that could take it to Verstappen in years to come".
And Sky Sports F1 pundit Karun Chandhok thinks McLaren "played a blinder" in getting Piastri to agree to a new contract. He said: "They've got driving stability and, actually, now they're in quite a good position of strength negotiating because Lando's now locked in for the next two years, Oscar's beyond it. It'll be fun times, the next couple of seasons, with all that."
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