Despite taking a shock win in Monza in 2021, Daniel Ricciardo was never able to fulfil his full potential with McLaren, eventually leaving the team a season earlier than expected.
McLaren’s cars have been famously difficult to drive in recent seasons, with the nature of the car catering to a specific driving style.
While Lando Norris clearly knows how to get the best out of his McLaren, Ricciardo’s late braking style simply did not work with McLaren, forcing him to try and rethink his entire driving style in an attempt to get the maximum performance out of the car.
McLaren eventually decided to replace Ricciardo with his younger countryman Oscar Piastri and some fans have expressed their concerns over the signing, suggesting that the young Australian may struggle to adapt to the MCL60.
READ: Christian Horner reveals surprising stance on controversial FIA rule
Piastri has quickly dismissed these claims however, explaining that throughout his motorsport career so far, he often has to adapt to different machinery.
“It’s obviously a bit of a shame that things didn’t work out between the team and Daniel, but for me personally I’m not concerned about that aspect of things,” he said at the MCL60 launch earlier this week.
“Throughout my junior career, I’ve had to change car every single year.
“I’ve never driven the same car for more than a year. I think adaptation is a big strength that you need in the junior categories, and I think that’s been prominent in mine.”
Despite their rookie’s confidence in hitting the ground running with McLaren, team CEO Zak Brown has explained that they do not expect Piastri to match the feats of Lando Norris straight away, giving the youngster time to adapt to F1.
READ: Red Bull set to have an all-Dutch driver line-up next year
Piastri has already shown that he is an extremely mature individual for his age with his handling of the Alpine contract saga last summer, refusing to get involved in a war of words with Otmar Szafnauer and Laurent Rossi, despite their clear digs at him.
Partnered with McLaren star Lando Norris, Piastri will be hoping for a similar trajectory to the Brit, who has continued to impress year after year since signing for the team in 2019.
With McLaren not expecting to feel the effects of their technology upgrades until next season at the earliest, 2023 could be the perfect opportunity for Piastri to settle into the team before hunting for podiums and wins next year.