F1 pundit names 22-year-old as shock driver who still needs to impress during 2024 season

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Formula 1 pundit James Hinchcliffe has made the surprising admission that he thinks McLaren’s Oscar Piastri needs to impress during the 2024 season.

After an inauspicious start to life in F1, Oscar Piastri quickly became a fan favourite with some incredible performances in a rejuvenated McLaren towards the end of his rookie season.

However, writing on the Formula 1 website, James Hinchcliffe has admitted that the Australian has suddenly given himself a lot to live up to over the next 12 months.

There is already plenty of uncertainty surrounding most of the F1 grid heading into this season.

The majority of drivers have entered the final 12 months of their deals, but McLaren were so impressed with Piastri that they tied him down to a new contract that runs until the end of 2026.

Lando Norris is also in no danger of departing the Woking-based team meaning McLaren are in a rare position of luxury compared to their rivals.

Piastri was sensational during his first season in F1, earning a Sprint Race win in Qatar and a couple of podiums too.

However, Hinchcliffe has warned Piastri that he needs to up his game even further in 2024 and avoid a ‘sophomore slump’.

While it’s hard to believe that the young Australian would suddenly rest on his laurels, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his excellent start to life at McLaren push teammate Lando Norris to the next level.

He can’t afford to be left behind by the Brit, but if he continues on his rapid upward trajectory, then all of a sudden it would be Norris under pressure.

Hinchcliffe insists Piastri needs to impress in 2024

Speaking about the 22-year-old’s upcoming campaign, Hinchcliffe said: “This might seem an odd one given the banner rookie campaign from Piastri – but the problem with early success is that expectation shifts accordingly.

“He showed such pace and promise as a rookie that the expectation will be, with a year under his belt, that he will be evenly matched with teammate Lando Norris from round 1 in Bahrain.

“Norris will, of course, up his game after the pressure Piastri put on him in the final 10 races of 2023 – which in turn makes Piastri’s job that much harder.

“And while I don’t believe Piastri to be the type of driver to read his own press and get too comfortable, in any sport the threat of a sophomore slump is real.

“He needs to back up his impressive first year with a strong head-to-head performance against Norris to truly establish himself as one of the best on the grid. And hopefully, that happens in a McLaren capable of fighting for wins.”

Hinchcliffe’s worries about Piastri heading into 2024 are likely to be unfounded, but there are areas where the 22-year-old can improve.

He was supreme in qualifying and his calm nature saw him make fewer mistakes than Norris towards the end of the season.

However, his race pace was sometimes lacking and that’s why he ended up with less than half the points of his teammate.

It was telling that Norris was able to glide past him and race his way through the field in Mexico City when Piastri was stuck in situ throughout the Grand Prix.

If he can start to match his teammate in that respect, then McLaren have a terrifying combination of drivers indeed.