McLaren believes rookie Oscar Piastri can potentially become one of the ‘best drivers on the grid’

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has claimed that rookie Oscar Piastri could potentially become 'one of the best drivers' in the sport.

Piastri did not have the best of starts to his F1 career as he was knocked out of Q1 in the qualifying session and could not really make an impression in the race after retiring due to a mechanical issue after a handful of laps.

There has been a mountain of expectations on the former F2 champion since his decision to ditch Alpine for McLaren in last season's silly season drama.

Speaking to F1.com, Stella said:

“What impresses us is his awareness of his opportunities while driving. He could come back and make comments like, ‘I think I braked a little too early in corner one, I didn’t go on the throttle early enough in four.’ Then you look at the data and it is exactly it."

He added:

“Then he goes out for the second run and he cashes in on these opportunities. For me, this is a definition of talent [and] we see a lot of it. We are also, like I said before, pleased with the improvement we have seen day by day. I think in terms of the opportunity overall… F1 is a very, very competitive game, so he just has to go through his own trajectory, and I’m sure the final destination will be one of the best drivers on the grid.”

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"I think we're where we thought we'd probably be" - McLaren technical director James Key

McLaren's technical director mentioned that they expected to be in the situation after the first race. The team had a forgettable race in Bahrain, with Lando Norris finishing rock bottom and Oscar Piastri retiring from the race.

Speaking to Autosport, Key said:

"I think we're where we thought we'd probably be. "It's really tight, to be honest with you, with a slightly better or worse lap it could have gone one way or the other in quali."

He added:

"We knew we were several tenths off where we needed to be, and there is good reason for that. It's not just sitting back and taking it easy over the winter, everyone's worked incredibly hard."

It would be interesting to see if the new upgrades that McLaren has planned on bringing in Baku will be a 'game-changer' for MCL 60 and push them back into the midfield battle for the remaining races of the 2023 season.