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Mark Webber says that new Australian Indy Lights competitor Alex Peroni’s driving reminds him of Will Power’s.
Peroni has spent the last two years in the FIA Formula 3 Championship, in which he finished 10th this year with three podiums and two fastest laps along the way.
However, he makes the move across the Atlantic in 2021 to contest Indy Lights with Carlin, which won the direct feeder series to IndyCar in 2016.
According to Webber, who was speaking in tomorrow morning’s episode of the KTM Summer Grilll, Peroni’s raw style is similar to that of their compatriot Power, the 2014 IndyCar champion and 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner.
CLICK HERE to watch Episode 9 of the KTM Summer Grill, covering the young guns from Australia and New Zealand who are making their way in Europe
“He’s certainly raw, in terms of his raw speed” said the nine-time grand prix winner of the 21-year-old Tasmanian.
“He reminds me of Will Power, actually. Will Power was always ballistically quick, always seems to be rough around the edges.
“He still admits to that, he’s still just trying to finally polish himself up in terms of that last part of his profession, and I’m not critiquing in any way; I was still learning ‘til we all put our helmets up.
“But Will, [in terms of] street circuits and sort of getting out there, getting on a green track and getting going, and wheel-to-wheel combat, I mean, there’s hardly anyone better, and I see a lot of that in Alex.”
Carlin bagged the 2016 Indy Lights title with Ed Jones and, among its other achievements, won the FIA European Formula 3 Championship with current McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris the following year.
Webber’s comments were in fact made before Peroni’s latest drive was announced, and the 2015 World Endurance Champion added that he hoped the up-and-comer could find a home where his skill would be harnessed.
“In the right environment, the right people around him, to get him just a sniff calmer…” remarked Webber.
“[That] is not easy, because when you are on the ropes, you’ve got to keep forcing these results, [and] sometimes it does force a little bit of desperation in your driving.
“I like him a lot. Speed’s not in question; it’s just sort of the composure factor of putting the weekends together.”
Official Indy Lights action for 2021 will kick off with a test on Homestead-Miami’s road course in February, before the opening rounds at St Petersburg in March.
CLICK HERE to watch Episode 9 of the KTM Summer Grill
