McLaren driver singled out as 'the real deal' by F1 pundit: "He looks a champion"

F1 pundit and presenter David Croft is impressed with McLaren's Oscar Piastri, calling him 'the real deal'. The 2023 rookie has managed to impress so far this year, having managed to beat Lando Norris in Jeddah.

Piastri's stellar qualifying performance ahead of the main race has been lauded by many for being exceptional. The Australian driver managed to put his otherwise woeful MCL60 into Q3, stunning the F1 community.

Unfortunately, McLaren did not have a successful race day as Piastri was forced to make a pit stop for a new front wing after colliding with Pierre Gasly at the start of the race. In addition, Norris had to make the same repairs after hitting debris from the incident.

Despite finishing in P15, Piastri's performance was commendable and befitting of the skill level that many expected from him in F1. Comparing the young driver to Charles Leclerc and George Russell, David Croft told SEN's Sportsday:

“He is the real deal. I like Oscar Piastri. As a racing driver, he is absolutely the real deal. Like Charles Leclerc and George Russell, he won the two main feeder systems in F3 and F2 in consecutive years. In the years to come, we will see some fine performances from this man. He looks a champion in the making, to be honest, and has done for some time now.”

Charles Leclerc impressed with McLaren rookie

Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc has lauded McLaren's Oscar Piastri, the 2023 rookie, for his outstanding performance during the qualifying session for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The Australian driver displayed an impressive performance, managing to advance to Q3 in Jeddah.

Speaking about Piastri's qualifying performance, Leclerc told the media, including Sportskeeda:

“It’s impressive. Especially after a year off and [this is his] second race, in a street track, in a very challenging one – probably one of the most challenging of the season. To see him have such a performance is great, however, it’s not really a surprise with what he has shown in the past. I was pretty sure that he was extremely talented and he showed that today.”

Piastri's McLaren teammate Lando Norris dropped out of Q1 after he nicked the wall heading into the final corner. While both drivers finished out of the points on Sunday, the former F2 champion's performance is indicative of great results in the future.

Next up; F1 heads to Oscar Piastri's home ground in Melbourne. It will be interesting to see how he performs on home soil.