Former F1 team principal and pundit Eddie Jordan says he has been ‘blown away’ by Aussie Oscar Piastri, labelling him a ‘revelation’ in his rookie campaign – and backing him to join Max Verstappen at Red Bull.
Piastri qualified fourth for the Hungarian Grand Prix and surged to second in the opening lap, before eventually finishing fifth after struggling with floor damage.
Having finished fourth at Silverstone the prior race weekend, the 22-year-old is putting together an impressive run of performances for McLaren.
And Jordan, who founded the Jordan Grand Prix team in 1991 and handed Michael Schumacher his F1 debut, believes Piastri is a world title contender in the making.
“The thing that caught my interest yesterday was this guy, Piastri,” Jordan told talkSPORT.
“He’d never been to this track before, maybe once in the junior formulas, and for him to come out and qualify on the second row and race like he did, and race against Max …
“Be careful where he’s going to go because I think there is big star quality in there, I’m actually blown away with this young kid, so he’d be one of the drivers I’d be looking at to challenge Max in the future.”
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Piastri’s agent is a former Red Bull stalwart in fellow Australian Mark Webber, and Jordan believes that connection could prove crucial in helping the youngster get a seat with F1’s champion team in the future.
“He’s managed by my old partner Mark Webber and we saw how he got him into McLaren,” Jordan said.
“Do not be surprised if there’s a seat available at Red Bull, of course where Mark used to be, don’t be surprised if he [Piastri] is named in front of the public eye in the future.”
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With Sergio Perez struggling in recent weeks, rumblings continue to grow that Red Bull will replace the Mexican driver in 2024.
But Daniel Ricciardo’s shock return to AlphaTauri – Red Bull’s sister team – hasn’t convinced Jordan that the veteran Aussie will get the nod over Piastri.
“I don’t see it [Ricciardo], they had that chance before and Red Bull don’t usually go back in time, they have a very forward vision,” he said.
“If there’s a change at Red Bull, Mark Webber has brought this kid [Piastri] on, brought him over from Australia, and what a revelation he’s turned out to be.”
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