McLaren has been warned that Oscar Piastri might consider moving to another team if the squad does not prioritize him.
Despite McLaren’s assertion that they do not have a designated ‘number one’ driver, Lando Norris was evidently the preferred choice towards the end of the previous season, where he challenged for the drivers’ championship against Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Norris, at 25, ultimately did not secure the title but managed to outscore Piastri by 82 points, securing four Grand Prix victories compared to Piastri’s two, largely due to better qualifying performances.
Former F1 driver Johnny Herbert has expressed concerns about McLaren potentially alienating Piastri.
“I think Oscar Piastri believes in himself and will make a move to another team if he feels he’s not prioritised at McLaren,” Herbert said to Casinoutanspelpaus.io.
He continued, “He doesn’t really care about what people say, and I think within a team, that’s the right attitude to have. It’s an attitude that could shift things within McLaren, as Piastri has all the ingredients to be a shining light of a driver.”
Herbert highlighted that Piastri is still developing and learning from his experiences. “He hasn’t peaked in any shape or form, he’s still going to learn from the experiences he had last year and he’s going to try and use those against whoever he’s racing,” he added.
As the new season approaches, starting with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Herbert predicts Piastri will aim for dominance. “Oscar is the interesting one (at McLaren) just because of his character,” Herbert noted.
“His character seems to be ‘I don’t give a damn, I would do what I need to do to be able to win that race’.”
Herbert also pointed out that despite strategic missteps by McLaren last season, Piastri is set for a fresh start. “I think he’s going to come out wanting to dominate and make sure that he is seen as the number one driver at McLaren and I think that is going to be his number one goal,” he concluded.
