According to Will Buxton, former F1 TV presenter, Red Bull Racing still regrets not having signed Oscar Piastri while he was still in the junior categories. According to Buxton, the Milton Keynes team sees the Australian as one of the most impressive drivers on the current Formula 1 grid and has been following his development for several years.
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The topic gained traction after Motorsport.com reported that Piastri is considered an option should Max Verstappen leave the team in the future. For Buxton, the mere fact that Red Bull is evaluating possible replacements shows that the threat of the four-time champion leaving is taken seriously internally.
“This is interesting for several reasons, but the main one is that Red Bull seems to be taking very seriously any possibility of losing Max, if they are really already lining up names to replace him,” Buxton said during the Up To Speed podcast.
Former W Series driver Naomi Schiff believes that Piastri would fit perfectly with Red Bull’s profile. According to her, the Australian impresses with consistency, composure, and the ability to control emotions even in pressure situations.
“What this shows is how much Red Bull values Oscar Piastri. He didn’t win the championship last year, but he was a very strong contender. He is extremely consistent, cool, and rarely lets emotions get in the way,” Schiff said.
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She also suggested that the highly competitive environment within McLaren might make Piastri consider other possibilities in the future: “Maybe there is an element of him not wanting to share so much spotlight with his teammate. And if there is a slight preference for Lando (Norris), as some people believe, maybe that makes Oscar pay attention to other opportunities,” she added.
Buxton emphasized that Red Bull’s interest in Piastri is not recent: “Red Bull has been following Oscar Piastri for years. They have publicly stated that they would have liked to have signed him while he was still a junior driver and that they shouldn’t have allowed him to go to Alpine’s academy,” he said.
The former presenter concluded by saying that the team considers having missed the ideal moment to secure the Australian before his arrival at McLaren: “They know they missed the timing when it comes to Piastri. He is one of the most impressive drivers in Formula 1 and would probably be the ideal name to lead a team,” he added.
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