Martin Brundle admits he can’t wait to watch ‘pretty good’ F1 driver back in action in 2024

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Martin Brundle has admitted that he can’t wait to see how much McLaren driver Oscar Piastri improves during the 2024 season.

Brundle was writing for Sky Sports F1 off the back of a fascinating debut campaign for the young Australian.

After the first race in Bahrain, Oscar Piastri must have wondered what he was doing after a controversial start to life in Formula 1.

Alpine believed the 22-year-old would be racing for them with Fernando Alonso moving onto Aston Martin.

However, the contract was never signed and instead, McLaren swooped in to sign Piastri with Daniel Ricciardo moving on.

Neither of McLaren’s two papaya-coloured cars made it into the final session of qualifying in that opening race, and Piastri’s F1 debut lasted just 18 laps before being forced to retire, while Norris finished dead last.

However, McLaren brought upgrades throughout the season that transformed their car and turned them into a front-running team.

Piastri finished 2023 with a Sprint Race win to his name and Martin Brundle has admitted he can’t wait to see what he does in 2024.

He was outpaced by Lando Norris throughout the season who was driving like a man possessed during some of the final races of the year.

Piastri spent much of the season learning new tracks while competing at the highest level of his career.

With that experience under his belt, he’ll be hoping to compete much more regularly for podium positions.

Brundle excited to see Piastri in 2024

Speaking about who has been the best rookie this season, Brundle said: “You could argue Liam Lawson for this but Oscar Piastri was pretty good as well, particularly as McLaren team-mate Norris has become one of the most highly rated F1 drivers on the grid.

“A Sprint win in Qatar was the highlight for Piastri and it will be fascinating to see how he gets on in 2024.”

Brundle has been impressed with Piastri throughout 2023 and there will be plenty of excitement about what he can achieve in 2024.

Ultimately, much of that comes down to the car and McLaren will hope they can build on the progress they made throughout this year.

Catching up to Red Bull is going to be a tall order but they will want to establish some dominance over Mercedes and Red Bull.

McLaren are keen to extend Norris’s contract after giving Piastri a new deal in September.

The pair are two of the most exciting drivers on the grid and could establish some dominance for the Woking-based team in the near future.