Raring to go

One of the rookies on this year’s Formula 1 racing grid is moving beyond behind-the-circuit drama to make a “phenomenal” start to his racing in the top tier of the motorsport.

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s manager, ex-F1 driver Mark Webber, told reporters that the team was “very proud” of the McLaren rookie for making a “phenomenal, phenomenal” start to his career.

Piastri debuted with McLaren in 2023 after a high-profile contract dispute involving the Woking squad and rivals Alpine – which he previously represented as a reserve driver – last summer.

Having spent 2022 on the sidelines after successive F3 and F2 titles, Piastri was thrust back into the limelight alongside the proven Lando Norris, with Bahrain-owned McLaren’s team boss Zak Brown anxious that there would be some “race rustiness” to shake off.

But the 22-year-old took his first points in his third Grand Prix on home soil in Australia, and joined Norris in the fight at the front of the field in Britain and Hungary amid a flurry of developments for McLaren’s MCL60 package.

And, last time out in Belgium, before the F1 summer break, Piastri made headlines in mixed conditions to qualify second in the Sprint Shootout and convert it into a second-place finish during the Sprint that followed.

“I think it’s been an extraordinary few weeks for the whole team,” Webber told Formula1.com.

“The bar has been accelerated to a very high level, very fast within the group – we shouldn’t be shy about that.

“I think it’s still so easy to forget that Oscar didn’t race last year. I think the start of the year it does take time. It’s his first time in F1, it’s not like he’s returning from a break… He’s been away 15 months and has never raced in F1.

“Lando has been exceptional, Lando’s top drawer, we know that, and Oscar has just held himself in such… Of course, we’re all very proud of him.”

Webber added that, despite an already strong start for Piastri in the top echelon, his driver will be pushing hard to ensure he delivers even more in the second half of the season.

“He’s had a phenomenal, phenomenal entry in his first year,” said the nine-time Grand Prix winner. “But being Oscar, he will continue to work on where he can improve and keep getting better.”

Piastri holds 11th in the drivers’ standings after 12 races, three spots down on team mate Norris, while McLaren sit fifth in the constructors’ – moving over the 100-point mark at Spa-Francorchamps amid their upturn in form.