F1 champion Jenson Button says McLaren star Oscar Piastri needs to be more consistent

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F1 champion admits consistency keeping one driver from greatness

One F1 driver has been told what he needs to improve in the pursuit of greatness

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Thursday 11 January 2024 16:57

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The 2009 F1 world champion, Jenson Button, has stated that Oscar Piastri showed 'glimpses of greatness' during his rookie season, but needs to become more consistent in 2024.

Piastri took the grid by storm in 2023 as he was rightly crowned rookie of the year after a superb season with McLaren.

It was not plain sailing at the beginning of the year for the team, but a hugely successful upgrade to their MCL60 saw them quickly become one of Red Bull's main challengers on a race weekend.

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Piastri (22) and team-mate Lando Norris (24) give McLaren one of the most exciting driver pairings on the grid heading into the 2024 season.

2023 proved to be a hugely successful year for McLaren

Oscar Piastri (L) and Lando Norris (R) had plenty to celebrate

2009 F1 champion Jenson Button has hailed the McLaren duo ahead of the 2024 season

And when asked by Sky Sports for his thoughts on the existing line-ups that each team has, Button hailed the McLaren pair – alongside Lewis Hamilton and George Russell at Mercedes – as the ones to watch.

Button: McLaren young guns super strong

But the 43-year-old also had some words of wisdom for Piastri if he is to fill his potential as an F1 driver.

"There are some seriously strong driver line-ups," he said.

"Mercedes, can't go past those two. I know Lewis [Hamilton], we were team-mates for three years, and for George [Russell] to get as close as he has to Lewis is impressive.

"But in terms of the young guns at McLaren, super strong.

"Oscar [Piastri] with a year under his belt, he'll have more consistency going into the 2024 season. He had glimpses of greatness [in 2023] obviously but then consistency just wasn't there, I think he ended up with less than half the points of Lando [Norris].

"But coming into a second season he's got that under his belt, I think he'll be competitive. So those two drivers will definitely push McLaren forward a bit as well."