Australian racing sensation Oscar Piastri has received a vote of confidence from none other than his compatriot and 1980 World Champion, Alan Jones, who believes Piastri has what it takes to clinch a podium finish in Melbourne.
Piastri, who drives for McLaren, has already notched up two podium finishes in his burgeoning Formula 1 career, showcasing his remarkable talent during his rookie season. With such promising performances under his belt, Jones is optimistic that Piastri could enhance his podium tally at the upcoming race.
While Piastri’s highest finish this season has been fourth place, Jones, a veteran of 24 podium finishes in his own F1 career, is convinced that Piastri has the potential to climb even higher up the leaderboard this weekend.
“Oscar is going extremely well, he is always up there in the top six or eight and I think all things being equal he has got a very good chance of being on the podium in Melbourne,” Jones stated.
“I don’t think he could be doing much better, quite frankly. He has done everything that the team has asked of him and he continues to show the talent that he has got.
“Lando [Norris] is a very talented, excellent Formula 1 driver and I think for him to go off and beat him, it goes to show the standard of talent that he has got.”
Jones offered a less flattering assessment of another current Formula 1 driver, Daniel Ricciardo. The 77-year-old remarked that the Red Bull driver seemed to be “treading water” in the competitive world of Formula 1.
“One is going extremely well and the other is going fairly ordinary,” Jones commented on the drivers from Australia.
“I think [Ricciardo] would even agree with that. Bad luck, or otherwise, I’m sure Daniel would like to have had better results than what he has had.
“At the end of the day we can’t be blaming the car all the time, which has been a bit of a tendency in the past.
“I would love to see Daniel go extremely well in Melbourne, I would like to see Daniel go extremely well period.
“But I just think that his luck is going to have to change or he is going to have to lift his game if he has got any chance of getting back in that Red Bull team or getting back into a more competitive car.
“He [Ricciardo] is treading water. He really needs to have some very good results and put up a good show, he can’t be dwelling down where he is.”
