Jarno Trulli says 22-year-old driver will be the biggest surprise of the season in 2024

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Former F1 driver Jarno Trulli believes that McLaren driver Oscar Piastri could end up being the surprise of the season in Formula 1 this year.

Oscar Piastri burst onto the scene last year with McLaren, winning a Sprint Race in Qatar and regularly challenging teammate Lando Norris.

Making a prediction ahead of the start of the season, Jarno Trulli was speaking to Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Italian outlet wanted to know who Trulli was looking forward to seeing in action and he echoed the thoughts of many Formula 1 fans by naming the 22-year-old.

Of the three rookies who joined F1 in 2023, Piastri stood head and shoulder above Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant.

While De Vries is a previous Formula E champion, it’s no surprise he outclassed his American rival.

Lando Norris more than doubled Piastri’s points total last season which shouldn’t really come as a surprise.

However, Trulli believes that Piastri could reach another level this year and start to surprise his more experienced competitors.

Jenson Button has admitted that Piastri needs to be more consistent this season to get the most out of his McLaren.

He’s certainly fast though and Eddie Jordan has backed him to one day have Max Verstappen looking over his shoulder.

If McLaren continue to upgrade their car at the same rate as last season, he might be regularly fighting the Dutchman sooner rather than later.

Trulli believes Piastri will be the surprise F1 driver this season

Asked who will be the surprise package on the grid this year, Trulli said: “As a surprise, I say Oscar Piastri, because he has a potentially competitive McLaren and could confirm his talent, after a very positive debut season.

“If the car is up to par, we could get used to finding him often on the podium.

“Today it is difficult to judge a young person in the minor categories, there are too many factors that influence performance, so the real litmus test only comes when he arrives in F1.

“The Australian has shown really good qualities. He is fast and quite consistent. To be able to evaluate him even better, we should see him fighting up front with the best.

“The comparison in the team with an already established driver like Lando Norris will certainly be convincing.”

Piastri will want to live up to Trulli’s prediction and surprise many of his rivals this season.

Consistency is the key for the young Aussie and he now has the benefit of a year of experience in F1 having visited plenty of tracks for the very first time in 2023.

Zak Brown and Andrea Stella will hope that he can push Lando Norris to the next level.

The Brit is still waiting to win his first Grand Prix and that will come sooner rather than later.

But he has to make sure he continues being viewed as McLaren’s number-one driver while Piastri is still learning his trade.