Steiner on Piastri's chances: 'At McLaren they don't even know'

Guenther Steiner warns McLaren for next year in an interview with Speedweek.com. The Haas F1 team boss sees a lot of talent in Oscar Piastri, who joins the British in 2023, but according to the Italian, the past shows that it is not a certainty that the Australian will succeed in Formula 1.

"McLaren is bringing in Piastri for 2023. Everyone considers the Australian a fantastic talent, but frankly, at McLaren, they don't even know if everything will turn out as hoped," Steiner stressed in conversation with the outlet.

No regrets about Schumacher collaboration

In this regard, Steiner seems to be referring to Mick Schumacher. The young driver joined the American formation in early 2021 and was known as a great talent, so the chances seemed considerable that he would succeed at the highest level. However, nothing was further from the truth.

The gap with Kevin Magnussen became painfully obvious this season, leading Haas to decide to part with him and bring in Nico Hulkenberg as his successor. Although the partnership with Schumacher ended disappointingly, Steiner by no means regrets the decision he made at the time.

"Young drivers are always a certain risk," the team boss stressed. "We now know that Formula 2 drivers George Russell, Charles Leclerc and Lando Norris are all excellent drivers. But you don't know that in advance."