Oct.4 (GMM) Oscar Piastri is flattered by the current reward of his expertise and potential coming from some very excessive locations lately.
Simply this week, regardless that it’s Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris with the higher shot on the 2024 title, former F1 chief government Bernie Ecclestone hailed the 23-year-old McLaren driver.
“The Australian, I believe, is a magic man,” mentioned Ecclestone, 93.
“He would, for certain, be world champion throughout the subsequent two years if the automobile retains performing the way in which it’s. He actually stands out amongst all of the others.”
It’s no shock that Ecclestone is a fan of Piastri’s, provided that the boy-faced Australian has typically been in comparison with Alain Prost – the driving force Ecclestone frequently names as the best Formulation 1 driver of all time.
“It’s a comparability that I’m honoured by, particularly as a result of Alain was one of the profitable drivers in our sport,” Piastri informed Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport this week.
“I wasn’t even alive when he was racing so I don’t have the entire image, however from what I hear or examine him, I do see some similarities between us.
“Prost had a really easy and rounded driving fashion. He was very exact in his work. I can see that in myself too.”
Piastri even is aware of quadruple world champion Prost, 69, personally, as they labored collectively at Alpine only a few years in the past previous to the Australian’s F1 debut.
“I spoke to him a couple of occasions after I was nonetheless at Alpine,” Piastri confirmed. “It was extremely attention-grabbing to speak to him and he additionally gave me some suggestions.”
A type of suggestions could have been about easy methods to minimise accidents and incidents, with Prost having famously admitted that he solely ever drove a automobile to a most of 99.9 % of its potential.
“It’s not fairly like that now,” Piastri insists. “In our time you all the time need to drive on the restrict.
“When Prost was racing, the automobiles had been much less dependable and never as protected, so going over the restrict had a lot larger penalties than it does right now. However you continue to can’t go over the curbs each lap.
“Right now it’s about hitting the restrict exactly. In the event you keep a tenth beneath, you’re too sluggish. In the event you go over it, the tyres punish you. It’s a superb line.”
