Mark Webber issues Oscar Piastri warning in ‘surprise’ over McLaren performance

Mark Webber has warned Formula 1 that Oscar Piastri will only get better as he is “incredibly hungry” and is not close to fulfilling his potential.

The former Red Bull driver also hailed the “extraordinary turnaround” that should see McLaren clinch their first Constructors’ title this century in Abu Dhabi.

Mark Webber warns Oscar Piastri ‘up for it’ if title chance presents itself

Webber now manages Piastri who, in tandem with Lando Norris, has driven McLaren from midfield runners to the verge of glory in the space of seven months.

“It’s been an extraordinary turnaround from one end of the grid to another,” said the Australian, appearing on the latest episode of the Sporting Misadventures with Chris Hoy podcast.

“We are surprised at the performance. The team aren’t dominating, that’s a long way off, but it’s been a great progression.”

Webber, who won nine times during his own F1 career, reveals a conversation he had with Piastri when his young compatriot first joined McLaren from Alpine in September 2022.

The Woking-based outfit languished fifth in the Constructors’ standings, 600 points behind Red Bull, and offered no indication they would challenge for a first title since 1998 any time soon.

“I said to Oscar, the position is shocking but the gap is not,” Webber told Hoy. “It’s a second and a half. If you start to get things right the curve of cutting through the grid can be quite impressive.

“They certainly didn’t turn the factory up and down. The new wind tunnel has been great but you need the right people in there under Zak Brown and Andrea Stella, tweaking things, positions, new roles and getting the belief back in the organisation.”

A team which finished fourth last year, still more than 500 points adrift of Red bull, lead the standings by 21 points, ahead of Ferrari, heading into the final round. Red Bull are a further 38 back.

F1 2024 head-to-heads going into Abu Dhabi season finale

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Since Miami, when Norris notched the first of his three wins, Piastri has also won twice – in Hungary and Azerbaijan – and the pair have shared a further 13 podium places.

“When Oscar got there [to McLaren], the confidence… it was tough times,” Webber adds. “It’s been impressive for them to come out the other side doing the basics brilliantly.”

Piastri, who led a McLaren one-two in the Sprint race in Qatar last weekend, is still only 23 and Webber sees a huge future for a man who won F3 and F2 crowns in back-to-back rookie seasons.

“There’s no question about it, you’re not at your peak in the first 18 months of your career,” he says.

“The bit that we don’t know is how the trajectory will go. We don’t know when that will level off. There’s still a bit to go. He knows he’s got a long way to go.

“It’s action, doing his talking on the circuit. His manners, his style. Very reserved but incredibly hungry. Been like that since we’ve known him.”

Asked if he could end Max Verstappen’s four-year grip on the Drivers’ title as soon as next year, Webber adds: “Oscar’s up for it. Of course he is.

“He’s proving himself in great fashion already. In the future that’s his goal, he wants to fight for it. He’s showing great form now.

“You can’t rest on your laurels and he knows that. Someone could come out with an absolute rocket next year. It only takes one car to make it very boring. It might be McLaren, it might be someone else.”

Listen to the full interview with Mark Webber on the latest episode of Sporting Misadventures with Chris Hoy, available from tomorrow [Wednesday 4 Dec] here.

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