30 March 2023 , 13:18
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Emerson Fittipaldi is optimistic about the future of his old team McLaren and disagrees with Damon Hill's suggestion that Oscar Piastri might be regretting joining.
Despite having been at the top of the midfield for a few years now, McLaren look to be heading in the wrong direction. Development targets were missed for their MCL60 car which is not as competitive as they would have liked it to be.
To make matters worse, their reliability – and luck – have been terrible in the first couple of race weekends of 2023. Both Piastri and Lando Norris have yet to score a single point after electronic and engine issues in Bahrain, followed by damage picked up by both on the first lap in Jeddah.
But double world champion Fittipaldi is not too concerned for his old team just yet. "I think McLaren for sure has the experience, the right people behind to improve from grand prix to grand prix," the Brazilian told MyBettingSites.
"I see McLaren’s situation this year similar to Mercedes' situation at the beginning of last year. They had a very disappointing start last year and then every grand prix they got better and better.
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"It is a cycle that can happen to any of the big teams. They are in a difficult cycle now but they have the potential, the human resources and the technical resources to come back strong."
Emerson Fittipaldi has been impressed by Oscar Piastri's start at McLaren (Hasan Bratic/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)McLaren's poor start led to Hill suggesting that Piastri might have made the wrong decision by choosing to leave Alpine for their rivals. He said: "Alpine is good at the moment – they don't set the world on fire, but they look more competitive than McLaren. So yes, maybe he does regret that."
But Fittipaldi is more positive about the young Aussie and has been pleased with what he has seen so far. He added: "I've been very impressed, especially at Jeddah, by Oscar Piastri. Under difficult situations, in a difficult car, he's been there, driving very fast.
"To me, he's given a great show. I respect the other two rookies but I think Piastri is the one that's going to come up big. Piastri will definitely push Lando. For sure. No doubt.
"Piastri is an extremely talented young driver and is in a very good team like McLaren. He'll be running strong for sure. Lando will not have an easy time with Piastri there."