Oscar Piastri can be a contender for a Formula 1 world championship as soon as next year as he prepares to wrap up a rookie season, which has been described as “exemplary”.
That’s the verdict of Australia’s last F1 world champion, Alan Jones, who believes Piastri has more than lived up to the hype in the McLaren young gun’s debut season on the big stage.
Piastri entered F1 with plenty of expectation off the back of a standout junior career, which delivered three successive championship wins, ending with the F2 crown.
Headlines surrounding the 2022 contract stoush between Piastri, McLaren and his former team Alpine, where he was a reserve driver last season, only turned up the spotlight and pressure on the Melbourne racer.
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But nearing the end of his rookie campaign, Piastri has confirmed his rising star in a season in which he has pushed McLaren teammate Lando Norris, finished on the F1 podium and claimed sprint race victory.
Leading into the final round of the F1 season in Abu Dhabi, Piastri sits ninth in the F1 driver standings on 89 points, which has him in line for the best rookie points haul since seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton scored 109 points in 2007.
Jones said Piastri’s debut season had exceeded most people’s expectations, but he had not been surprised by the 22-year-old’s performances.
“He has done an exemplary job,” Jones said.
“He has done everything that has been asked of him and more quite frankly. I think he has exceeded most people’s expectations.
“At the end of the day, there are very few people that no matter what they put their bum in, they win.
“Throughout the history of Formula 1 there have been people who have won every category and then they have gone into Formula 1 and they’ve invariably been superstars or world champions.
“And from my point of view, there is no reason why (Piastri) can’t follow in those footsteps.”
The highlights of Piastri’s debut season have included back-to-back podium finishes in Japan (third) and in Qatar (second) when he added to a sprint race victory in his best weekend in F1.
Piastri’s impressive rookie campaign was rewarded in late September when McLaren announced it had extended his contract through to the end of the 2026 season.
McLaren chief executive Zak Brown took just three rounds of this year’s F1 season – when the team was still awaiting key performance upgrades to its car – to declare “the indications are we’ve got a future world champion on our hands” with Piastri.
Brown has since labelled Piastri’s rookie year as “uber-impressive”, praising his patience and his confidence as a “big balls driver”.
Jones said Piastri was capable of being a title contender as soon as next season if McLaren could provide him with the right machinery.
“If McLaren can keep the car up and continue with their progress then there’s no reason why he can’t be a contender for the championship (next year),” Jones said.
“I think Zak Brown would be very happy with what he’s got so far.
“Zak was the one who put the car underneath him and they have given him quite a good car so far and they deserve everything they get.”
Jones said Piastri had pushed his highly-rated teammate Norris this year and had not appeared overawed against any competition on the grid.
“He has pushed Lando and I think he has helped Lando,” Jones said.
“I think Lando has lifted his game, to what percentage I really don’t know.
“But he has definitely lifted his game and I’m sure that’s in no small part to Oscar being in the team.
“I don’t think (Piastri) is in awe of any of them. I don’t think he gets on there and says ‘Oh, this is Lewis Hamilton or this is (Max) Verstappen’. He just treats them all as equals which is what you’re meant to do.
“He has pulled some really good overtaking moves.”
Following Piastri’s contract extension, Norris said his younger teammate had driven him this season.
“He’s performed, he’s done everything he needed to, and I think it exceeded most people’s expectations from what he’s been able to achieve already this season,” Norris said.
“He’s pushed me a lot – it’s not a nice thing, it’s not what I want – but he’s done a very good job.”
Piastri was last week praised by Brown for his “mega drive” at the Las Vegas Grand Prix when he stormed from 18th on the starting grid to finish P10, claiming the fastest lap in the process.
F1 expert Martin Brundle said Piastri had the potential to be a “mighty” driver, but needed to cut out on-track “skirmishes” like his run-in with Hamilton in Sin City.
“Oscar Piastri scored (the) fastest lap and had a super-aggressive drive from his lowly grid position,” Brundle told Sky Sports.
“He perhaps gets involved in too many skirmishes, this time a racing incident with Hamilton, but when he adds better control and judgement to his speed given more experience, he’ll be mighty.”
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