McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has been impressed with what he's seen so far from rookie Oscar Piastri, believing that the Aussie will develop into "one of the best drivers on the grid".
Piastri's reputation – built in the junior ranks with a hat trick of consecutive championships – preceded him ahead of his entry into Formula 1, while McLaren's decision last summer to bet on the young gun's talent also spoke volumes about the 21-year-old perceived potential.
Piastri acquitted himself well during his F1 debut in Bahrain also his race was cut short after just 13 laps due to an electronic issue.
But based on his driver's work and performance in pre-season testing and on his interaction with the team so far, Stella believes McLaren has put its money on the right horse.
"Oscar is new to F1 but he is proven winning material in junior categories. He has been doing very well so far – we are very pleased," said Stella in Bahrain.
"The level of talent, the level of progress we have seen day by day, during testing, is very encouraging, and kind of confirms that he is a strong prospect for the future."
Asked to detail the young Australian driver's strong points and the areas where he needs to improve, Stella singled out Piastri's ability to quickly correct certain errors or approximations while driving.
"What impresses us is his awareness of his opportunities while driving," said the Italian.
"He could come back and make comments like, ‘I think I braked a little too early in corner one, I didn’t go on the throttle early enough in four’. Then you look at the data and it is exactly it,” continued Stella.
"Then he goes out for the second run and he cashes in on these opportunities. For me, this is a definition of talent [and] we see a lot of it. We are also, like I said before, pleased with the improvement we have seen day by day.
"I think in terms of the opportunity overall… F1 is a very, very competitive game, so he just has to go through his own trajectory, and I’m sure the final destination will be one of the best drivers on the grid."
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