Ralf Schumacher admits he loves ‘amazing’ young F1 driver who ‘never makes a mistake’

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Former F1 driver Ralf Schumacher has admitted that he’s a huge fan of McLaren driver Oscar Piastri.

After a fantastic debut season with McLaren, the 22-year-old Australian will be hoping to close the gap to Lando Norris in 2024.

Speaking on The Formula For Success Podcast, Ralf Schumacher was raving about the youngster.

One of the most fascinating aspects of the 2024 season is going to be seeing how close to Red Bull McLaren can get.

Three-quarters of the grid are driving for their Formula 1 careers, but McLaren have already tied down both of their drivers until at least the end of 2025.

While Red Bull are interested in Oscar Piastri’s teammate, there is huge excitement about the pair within the Woking-based outfit.

Piastri was competing for regular podiums as soon as he received the same upgrades as his teammate.

It’s no wonder Ralf Schumacher is such a big fan of Piastri and he has high hopes for the McLaren driver.

However, he has pinpointed one area that he can still improve on, but that’s understandable considering he’s driven less than 25 Grand Prix during his career.

Ralf Schumacher raves about McLaren star Piastri

Discussing the 22-year-old, Schumacher said: “I have to say I’m a big fan of Oscar [Piastri], the only thing is he seems still to be a bit weak in the racing speed.

“I think his qualifying performance is amazing, he never makes a mistake, [and] he’s always there, so that’s great.”

Oscar Piastri has already been told that he’s still got plenty to prove this season.

He’ll have an early season upgrade package to look forward to alongside the improvement the team has made over the winter.

Piastri’s points tally last season backs up what Schumacher was saying about the McLaren driver.

Norris more than doubled his tally although that’s not a surprise given the gulf in experience between the two drivers.

However, it won’t take him long to catch up to the Brit, especially as there’s only one track on the grid that he hasn’t visited this year, as opposed to 2023 where a new circuit seemed to be around the corner at every stage of the season.