Mark Webber has jokingly suggested that Oscar Piastri is more “sophisticated” than either himself or fellow ex-Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo. Piastri became the latest Australian to arrive into F1 in 2023, replacing countryman Ricciardo at the McLaren team. Prior to that, Webber – who now acts as Piastri’s manager – raced in Formula 1 between 2002 and 2013. While Webber is playing a pivotal role in Piastri’s career, the former Red Bull man does not see many similarities between himself and the youngster. “Ann, my wife, said [about Piastri], ‘He’s the most sophisticated Australian that’s gone overseas,'” Webber told the F1 Nation podcast. “Given that she’s comparing him to Daniel and I, the bar is very low! The sophistication front of Daniel and I is [a] very, very low bar, so I don’t think there’s any comparisons between myself and Oscar.” ‘Generation gap’ with Piastri With Piastri making his debut in Formula 1 over 20 years on from Webber’s first race, the latter admits that there are some significant differences between how the sport was then and now. “It just shows you the generation gap,” Webber explained. “I think that’s the interesting thing. When you’re talking to Oscar about certain things, it’s just like, some of it’s relevant of course, some of it’s not. “That’s why you’ve got to work with the engineers as well, just to try and work out what’s going in. “The level of professionalism and detail they have now, and all the resources they have… The sport just continues to move on, which is great to watch.”
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