The 21-year-old is a direct swap for Daniel Ricciardo and according to former Williams and Ferrari team manager Peter Windsor, the rising star must dominate on the grid after he rejected an offer from Alpine. ‘Here’s a guy [Piastri] who said no to Alpine and he’s going with McLaren,’ Windsor said.
‘If he’d gone in as a rookie driver at Alpine there’s slightly less focus on him and slightly less pressure than he’s got now at McLaren.’ Windsor also doubts whether Piastri is a better driver than McLaren’s main man Lando Norris.
‘It’s kind of similar to Ayrton in a way because Ayrton wanted to start with a small team and grow with that team and then, after a year, maybe go to a Lotus or a Williams or wherever, whereas Piastri’s not doing that.
‘On the assumption that he [Piastri] is the next Ayrton Senna, which is what a lot of people tell us, then it’s going to be interesting to see how he goes,’ he told Wide World of Sports. ‘Personally, I think Lando is exceptionally good and I think he’ll have no problem at all with Piastri.
Piastri was forced to sit on the sidelines last year, having won three championships in three years at junior level. His elevation to the F1 circuit has plenty of fans salivating given his obvious promise.
‘But given everything that’s happened in the last nine months with Piastri you’ve got to say this guy is unbelievably confident of his own ability to get in there and be an Ayrton Senna because he turned down Alpine.’
Ricciardo has urged Piastri to absorb as much information as he can as the young Australian prepares for his debut. ‘I think just go out and drive,’ Ricciardo said on the Beyond the Grid podcast when asked whether he had any advice for his younger colleague.
‘I know that sounds like a really lazy response but it’s just go and drive. ‘Learn, be a sponge, but drive and take it race by race.’ Round one of the 2023 F1 season is in Bahrain from March 3-5.
