Webber: Very proud of Piastri

Webber was the man behind Piastri's controversial move from Alpine to McLaren in 2022, that saw both teams enter a legal battle to secure the services of the young Australian driver.

In the end McLaren won that fight, and with how things turned out so far in 2023, and keeping in mind the worrying state of Alpine following its recent hemorrhage of management figures, Webber's decision to move his protégé was an inspired one, which can also can be said of McLaren's decision to fight for him.

Piastri, however, was thrown into the deep end at the start of his rookie season in top flight, as McLaren got their sums wrong with their MCL60, with a major technical shakeup saw Technical Director James Key leave the team, keeping in mind that Andreas Seidl left his role as Team Principal to join Sauber before the 2023 F1 season even started, and was replaced from within Woking by Andrea Stella.

Despite the tough start at McLaren, Piastri showed maturity and kept his head down. He qualified eighth in only his second race in Jeddah, and scored points on his third one, at home in Melbourne.

Piastri held his own pretty well against the talented Lando Norris, and once he got hold of the upgraded MCL60 at Silverstone, the youngster just found an extra gear, qualifying third and just missing out on his first podium at the British Grand Prix due to an untimely Safety Car.

In Hungary he qualified fourth, but showed that he still lacked racing experience finishing fifth, but then came Spa and Piastri showed his true mettle in the tricky conditions that prevailed over the weekend.

He outqualified Norris for the Grand Prix and in the Sprint Shootout he was second fastest (Norris was fifth) behind Max Verstappen, and finished the Sprint in second as well (Norris was sixth). However the Belgian Grand Prix showed the young McLaren charge still lacked experience following his DNF on lap one due to an accident with Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.

Nevertheless, it has an impressive debut season for Piastri, and with time on his side, he is bound to get better, with his first win just a matter of time.

"I think it’s been an extraordinary few weeks for the whole team," Webber reflected, speaking to F1's Official Website.

"The bar has been accelerated to a very high level, very fast within the group – we shouldn’t be shy about that," the former F1 driver, who retired in 2013, pointed out.

As for the driver he manages, Webber said: "I think it’s still so easy to forget that Oscar didn’t race last year. I think the start of the year it does take time.

"It’s his first time in F1, it’s not like he’s returning from a break… He’s been away 15 months and has never raced in F1.

"Lando has been exceptional, Lando’s top drawer, we know that, and Oscar has just held himself in such… Of course, we’re all very proud of him," he maintained.

Webber, however, insisted Piastri will not rest on his laurels and will continued to push and develop his craft, he said: "He’s [Piastri] had a phenomenal, phenomenal entry in his first year.

"But being Oscar, he will continue to work on where he can improve and keep getting better," the winner of nine grands prix concluded.

Piastri enters the summer break 11th in the F1 Drivers' Standings with 34 points. Norris on the other hand has 69 and is eighth, as McLaren occupy fifth place in the Constructors' Championship.