Brown raises expectations on Piastri: 'I think there's a lot more to come'

With two young drivers in his team competing fully for podiums in the second half of the season, McLaren boss Zak Brown does not seem to need to worry. The team also recently announced that Oscar Piastri has extended his contract until 2026. Good news for Brown; he says he is very happy with the young Australian.

Oscar Piastri is having a strong debut season in Formula 1. Where the youngster already finished on the podium during the Sprint at Spa, he did so again at Suzuka. This time in the Grand Prix on Sunday. McLaren CEO Brown sees the developments Piastri has gone through and said he expects even more in the future:"I think there's a lot more to come, which is the exciting part."

Brown: 'Maturity of Piastri most impressive'

Brown praises Piastri not so much for the pace he shows on the track, but mainly for other aspects. He explains: "His maturity, I think, is what has been most impressive and his technical feedback and understanding. I think no one's surprised at the pace that he has, but he's so mature, he's very calm, he kind of takes one session at a time and come showtime, he's right there."

According to Brown, the Australian's self-confidence is on the rise, and that manifests itself especially in stronger sessions on Fridays. The American sees Piastri finishing much stronger free practice sessions than at the start of the year and that development makes him hopeful for the future: "I think our driver lineup, of all the things that we need to be competitive, I'm not worried about our driver lineup."