Oscar Piastri is 'the most sophisticated Australian to race overseas,' says former F1 driver's wife

Former F1 driver and Oscar Piastri's manager Mark Webber believes it will take some adjustments and time for the 21-year old before he gets used to an F1 driver's lifestyle and status.

In a recent interview with Speedcafe, Webber shared some important insights about Oscar Piastri's strengths, his character and mental build-up, while also drawing comparisons between him and other racers in the sport. Speaking about Piastri's character, he said:

"He's pretty different to Daniel, I think Oscar is pretty reserved. I'll say everyone's got their own character. Sebastian [Vettel] as a World Champion is very different to what he was at the end of his career. Charles [Leclerc], Max [Verstappen], they've all got their own little idiosyncrasies and style on how they go about it."

Webber gave the example of current and former McLaren drivers, Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo, who were both 19 when they made their F1 debuts. Webber drew attention to this as Norris and Ricciardo too took a while before establishing themselves on the grid. Webber said:

"With Oscar, he's new to sport, he's going to have his first season next year. It doesn't matter what driver you are, obviously it takes time for you to get used to the sport, the juggernaut, the travel, the media. When Lando arrived he was a rabbit in a headlight, same for Daniel probably a little bit at HRT and Toro Rosso for a time."

He continued:

"But Oscar is very reserved, incredibly professional, diligent - which we're seeing in all the junior categories - and very economical with his words. As my wife said 'He's the most sophisticated Australian that's ever gone to race overseas!'"

Earlier, Oscar Piastri seemed to be headed to Alpine to replace veteran Fernando Alonso as the latter made his move to Aston Martin for the 2023 season, but he denied the claim on social media as he chose to join McLaren instead. The Australian will team up with Lando Norris for the 2023 season.

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McLaren issues team orders: Oscar Piastri will get opportunities to beat Lando Norris

McLaren boss Zak Brown believes Oscar Piastri will be competing closely with teammate Lando Norris in the 2023 season, and will have opportunities to beat him as well.

Talking about his expectations from his new signing, Brown said that both his drivers, Norris and Piastri, will be close to each other on pace. He said:

“I think Lando is one of the fastest drivers on the grid and I expect Oscar to be close. I expect Oscar to have some opportunities to beat him and vice versa. And that's obviously what you want, right? It's two drivers right next to each other and reversing the order.”

When questioned about Norris' impressive growth at McLaren, Brown talked about the early days of the young driver and how he has been able to hone his driving and get better every time. He said:

“Lando was mega in everything. And it has worked in F1. In fact, what I think I'm happiest to see is not just pure pace, but how few mistakes he makes, and how strong his racecraft is. Looking at Lando, year one. He had the pace, but probably didn't have his elbows out enough. And now he's fair, but he's a tough character when you are racing.”

Oscar Piastri and Norris will be working together at McLaren in the 2023 season to help them climb up the table. McLaren finished P5 last season as they lost the battle for P4 to Alpine.