Eddie Jordan has identified the Oscar Piastri – McLaren duo as the only potential challenger capable of giving Max Verstappen a run for his money in the upcoming season, while excluding Scuderia Ferrari from the equation. The Irish entrepreneur has also made statements about the Maranello team in recent hours, suggesting that the Prancing Horse may have received favorable treatment in some past races.
From Piastri to McLaren, passing through the Ferrari conspiracy theory: Jordan’s analysis of the weekend in Qatar
In a season where, apart from Red Bull, the battle for the podium has been quite intense, with three different teams often in contention, the former owner of the eponymous Formula 1 team believes that the growth of McLaren and Oscar Piastri is something to watch closely in the upcoming championship.
“There are other teams that, in my opinion, are struggling,” Jordan stated on TalkSPORT. “We saw a glimmer from Ferrari, which won the race in Singapore, and then we saw a couple of pole positions. But where was this over the weekend? It disappeared into thin air. Now, I have a little conspiracy theory that always involves favoritism towards Ferrari in certain races, especially in Monza. This used to happen many years ago, but I’m sure it doesn’t happen now, so let’s forget about it.” – he pointed out.
“So you have to think about McLaren,” the Irishman immediately shifted the focus, leaving some mystery regarding his comments about the Prancing Horse. “McLaren at this moment, with Oscar Piastri, is simply fabulous. It’s the only one I see emerging and capable of challenging Verstappen in the years to come. Let’s hope that happens because for a young rookie to win the Sprint Race on Saturday and finish second on Sunday was simply astonishing. I have the utmost respect for this young man, and I think he has a bright future. Let’s see what happens.” – he added.
After achieving his first career podium in Japan, the young Australian driver repeated the feat in Losail, winning the first-ever sprint race and finishing second in the traditional Grand Prix, trailing only Max Verstappen.
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Oscar Piastri’s qualities had already been prominently displayed in recent years, having clinched the championship titles in Formula 3 and Formula 2 in his first attempts, joining the exclusive club of drivers to win both junior category titles consecutively.
However, envisioning him as this competitive in his debut year in Formula 1 was truly difficult to predict, especially when compared to a challenging teammate like Lando Norris.
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