Former F1 world champion Nico Rosberg believes Oscar Piastri’s decision to join McLaren was a brave move but could ultimately backfire if he fails to beat Lando Norris.
Oscar Piastri was due to enter F1 with Alpine next season. The acclaimed Oscar Piastri, 21, had logically reached the final stage of coaching by Alpine, who have supported him since 2020.
However, due to a reversal, Oscar Piastri rejected Alpine’s offer and switched allegiance to McLaren. The pick was judged harshly by the Enstone team, but he was also to blame for the team’s failure to lock Piastri out of a full contract.
Nico Rosberg hailed Oscar Piastri’s decision as an act of brave youth but warned it was also a double-edged sword.
“A brave decision by Oscar, I really mean it,” Nico Rosberg told Sky F1.
“Either he beats Lando or he’s basically out of the sport, so it’s really, really difficult.”
“But he believes in himself, and if he thinks he’s very good, he has to do it.”
“When it comes to the Oscars, if you’re a young driver and you have the opportunity to race for McLaren and you’re free to do so, you should take it.”
“These opportunities don’t always come, so he did everything right.”
However, Nico Rosberg pointed to the difficult and ultimately fruitless task facing Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren since last season, and the dangers lurking in Oscar Piastri’s showdown with Lando Norris.
“It will be difficult for Oscar to do well there,” said 2016 F1 world champion Nico Rosberg.
“Lando is world class material, world champion. It won’t be easy to go out there and do better than Daniel.”
“Ricciardo is a multiple race winner and one of the best drivers in the world, but competing against Lando proved incredibly difficult. Oscar is new to the sport!”
“All signs point to Oscar really being one of the superstars of the future.”
“But it’s really hard to believe that suddenly Ricciardo can’t learn to run super fast.”
“So I think it’s Lando who is acting like a world champion right now. He’s driving incredibly well.”
“So I really think it’s going to be a really big challenge for the Oscars to get close to Lando next year.”
Category: F1 / Oscar Piastri / McLaren / Nico Rosberg / Norris Land
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