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Ex-Renault and Toyota racer Jarno Trulli has suggested the Australian could be one to watch throughout 2024 should McLaren deliver him a car capable of challenging for the title.
Piastri impressed during his rookie season, winning the F1 Sprint in Qatar after quickly finding his feat at the sport’s pinnacle.
But it wasn’t just his on-track exploits that caught the eye; his naturally calm personality and high work ethic were also cited as key qualities.
McLaren team boss Andrea Stella has spoken glowingly of the 22-year-old, while CEO Zak Brown has suggested he’s a world champion in the making.
It’s a view shared by Trulli, who raced for Renault alongside Fernando Alonso during the mid-2000s.
Speaking with Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport, Piastri and George Russell caught the 2004 Monaco Grand Prix winner’s eye when asked who could contend for this year’s world title.
“The unexpected outsider for the world championship could be George Russell if Mercedes becomes competitive again and can challenge Red Bull,” Trulli began.
“As a surprise, I say Oscar Piastri because he has a potentially competitive McLaren and can further develop his talent after a very positive debut season. The Australian has shown really good qualities.
“He is fast and quite consistent. To judge him even better, you should see him fight with the best.
“The confrontation in the team with a driver who has already proven himself in the form of Lando Norris will certainly be exciting.”
McLaren is well aware of the prospect of internal conflict and is ready to nip it in the bud should it arise.
The Woking squad became the first team to unveil the look of its 2024 car on Tuesday evening (UK time), though not the MCL38 itself.
For now, that remains under wraps, though team boss Andrea Stella spoke confidently when asked about the new car’s development at the livery launch.
“What I can say in terms of car development is that we could maintain the kind of development gradient that we established last year that led to the Austria upgrade and then the Singapore upgrade,” he said when asked by Speedcafe.
The Italian’s tone is markedly different from a year ago when he and Brown conceded the car had missed its development targets.
McLaren was arguably Red Bull Racing’s closest rival in the latter stages of 2023, ending the year with nine podiums.
An early indication of the relative title hopes of Piastri and Russell will come at F1’s pre-season testing, which takes place in Bahrain from February 21-23.
Max Verstappen heads into the coming campaign, having won the last three championships, doing so in devastating fashion last season.
