Mark Webber admits McLaren ace Oscar Piastri still has ‘work to do’ as F1 driver

Follow us on Google Discover

Mark Webber has explained where McLaren ace Oscar Piastri still needs to improve as a Formula 1 driver after he won the Sprint for the Qatar Grand Prix from pole position.

The 22-year-old continues to add yet further highlights to his remarkable rookie season with McLaren this year. Piastri pipped Lando Norris to top the Sprint Shootout at the Lusail circuit last weekend. He then nursed his tyres to beat Mercedes’ George Russell and win the Sprint.

It was Piastri’s first win and first pole of any kind as a Formula 1 star. The Australian had only just scored his first Grand Prix podium with third place in Japan two weeks earlier. He took a rostrum in Belgium back in July, as well, after finishing behind Max Verstappen in the Sprint.

Piastri is producing a superb rookie season with McLaren

Piastri briefly led in the Sprint at the Belgian GP but could not hold Verstappen off to win at Spa. He also narrowly missed out on a podium at the British GP in July as the safety car gave Lewis Hamilton a cheap pit stop. A rostrum then stayed out of his clutches until September.

McLaren even almost saw Piastri claim his maiden Grand Prix podium with second at Suzuka ahead of Norris in P3. But the Melbourne native’s earlier pit stop left him as a sitting duck to the Briton’s fresher rubber. Piastri has shown tyre management remains an area to improve.

Webber admits where Piastri still needs to improve in F1

Webber, a nine-time Grand Prix winner who now serves as Piastri’s manager, acknowledges that race management is the main area the McLaren driver still needs to refine in F1. But he admires the gains his compatriot has shown during his rookie season with the Woking team.

“We still got a bit of work to do, maybe, on the race,” Webber told GPblog after the Sprint at the Qatar GP. “This was a shorter race today but it raced him a little bit.

“But the qualifying has been a good step forward. I think adaptability, coolness and also, of course, he has to be prepared to always continue to improve each day. That’s natural.”

Pirelli and the FIA mandating 18-lap maximum tyre stints during the Qatar GP helped Piastri with the McLaren star’s management. He also showed brilliant pace to move up through the order from P6 on the grid. Piastri lost his fastest time in Q3 due to track limits on the Friday.

The McLaren’s pace, Pirelli’s tyre limits and Piastri’s skill combined to secure him a P2 finish in the Qatar GP. But Norris still showed his teammate has room to improve after eating time away with ease after also clearing traffic. The Papaya squad would impose team orders, too.