Piastri a threat to F1 drivers – Webber

FORMER Formula One star Mark Webber has said his protege Oscar Piastri will be “dangerous for lots of guys on the grid” next year when the Australian makes his move towards an F1 race seat.

In what nine-time grand prix winner Webber described as a “ginormous step forward” for Piastri’s goal of a position on the F1 grid in 2023, the Formula 2 championship leader landed a reserve driver role for the Alpine F1 team for 2022.

After dominating the junior categories on the stepladder to F1, he will become Alpine’s test driver and back-up for Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.

Webber, who manages Piastri (pictured), expected the 20year-old to confirm to Alpine it had secured an “absolute cracker” when he from its academy.

The former Red Bull star said the youngster was ready for a full-time move into F1 now but there were limited opportunities for next year.

Piastri would be lurking as a reserve driver in 2022 in a year when F1’s new regulations came into play, Webber said.

“I think he is ready now but the opportunities were not quite there,” Webber said.

“Formula One can sometimes be extremely tricky. We saw Fernando Alonso have a year out when he was ready, sometimes it’s the cycle of the seats and how it works.

“We are seeing a pretty heavy commercial phase and sometimes that’s lighter or bigger in terms of the grid makeup ... it’s weighted pretty heavy for drivers who are commercially in a position to make a difference to get some seats.

“But that comes and goes . . . Oscar is very dangerous for lots of guys on the grid.” graduates