Mark Webber thinks fellow Aussies Oscar Piastri and Daniel Ricciardo are ‘pretty different’
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Oscar Piastri (L) and Daniel Ricciardo (R) during the Renault days (2020)
Oscar Piastri will join forces with McLaren in 2023, after a long battle last summer with Alpine. He will be replacing Daniel Ricciardo – his vastly more experienced compatriot. The flag of Australia will continue to be represented in Formula 1, but the drivers themselves are very different. At least, that is the opinion of Mark Webber, Piastri’s mentor and manager.
Webber, who won nine Grands Prix with Red Bull, knows all about Piastri. All Formula 1 fans are aware of Ricciardo’s persona – bubbly, always smiling, often joking around. He’s won many hearts through his demeanor and has a very large fanbase. This appeal is part of the reason Zak Brown was so keen on keeping him around at McLaren in another role, but it wasn’t to be.
In rather stark contrast to Ricciardo, Webber thinks Piastri is ‘reserved’. When asked how the two compare personality-wise in an interview with Speedcafe.com, the Australian said: “[Oscar is] pretty different to Daniel. I think Oscar is pretty reserved.” he explained further: “Oscar, obviously, he’s new to the sport. He’s going to have his first season next year [2023]. No matter what [kind of] driver you are, it takes you time to get used to the sport, the travel, the marketing, the media, all those type of things.”
The first year of F1 is never easy for any driver to get around. After giving an example of how Lando Norris was a ‘rabbit in the headlights’ when he first arrived at McLaren, Webber continued: “All of us, in our first year, there’s a lot to take in. But Oscar’s very reserved. He’s incredibly professional, of course, and dilligent which we’ve seen in all the junior categories. [He’s] very economical with his words.” He then repeated a remark from his wife: “As my wife said, he’s the most sophisticated Australian that’s gone on to race overseas.”
Webber: Piastri’s participation in post-season test was ‘pivotal’
The whole saga with Alpine even went to the Contract Recognition Board – who ruled that the McLaren contract is the only legal one. Even then, Oscar Piastri was in a bit of a pickle. Obviously, as he was leaving the French outfit, they were not keen on giving him a run in the car again. The FP1 sessions meant for him instead went to compatriot Jack Doohan. But they did release him early (end-of-season instead of end-of-year), as part of an agreement with McLaren, allowing him to participate in the post-season test.
Mark Webber thinks the fact that Piastri was able to participate in the test is ‘pivotal’. The 46-year-old said: “It’s pivotal. Obviously, the working environment is important, particularly for someone like Oscar, who’s so insanely detailed. He’s methodical in his approach and McLaren has seen that already, which is great, but you can do as much at the factory as a reserve driver, whatever that is [or] can be, but you need to be racing and preparing for that. Ultimately, he’s enjoyed those tests and that was a good scenario, very good for us, brilliant scenario for us to be able to do those.”
Webber also gave an example from his days, when the drivers did far more testing than the youngsters now are allowed to. He remarked that Piastri only had eight days in the car until June, and then in July news broke of his intention to move to McLaren, so there was going to be no more of that. Piastri’s next valuable track time will be at the pre-season testing in Bahrain, from February 23-25.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)