Piastri's manager Mark Webber reveals how Australian has stepped up against 'serious artillery' of his opposition in 2025

Oscar Piastri’s manager Mark Webber believes that the McLaren driver has raised his game against the “serious artillery” of his rivals – such as Lando Norris and Max Verstappen – after taking a dominant victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix.

Having previously triumphed at the second race of the campaign in China, Piastri became the season’s first multiple winner with his lights-to-flag drive to P1 in Sakhir, meaning that he is now only three points behind McLaren team mate Norris in the Drivers’ Championship.

F1 NATION: ‘A champion is cooking’ and why Norris vs Piastri is ‘fire and ice’ – it’s our Bahrain GP review with Mark Webber

Speaking to the F1 Nation podcast about his 24-year-old charge’s latest success, Webber praised his performance and acknowledged how those two victories so far in 2025 have come at challenging circuits.

“Four wins now, 13 podiums, so early in his career is of course a really huge feather in his cap,” said Webber, himself a nine-race F1 race winner. “As we know, you can have the machinery but it’s often not easy to convert those opportunities.

“He’s converted the two poles straight away, so I think what we’re seeing quite early in his career is a job well done so far.

READ MORE: McLaren bosses hail ‘perfect weekend’ from Bahrain winner Piastri – but warn that it’s ‘a matter of time’ before ‘epic battle’ with Norris

“All the wins, when you’re lucky enough to win a few like he has already, they can be a bit different and that one was probably the most comfortable one he’s had, but there’ll be more stressful ones in the future.

“This whole weekend went very smooth for him. It’s a track which, again, was one that needed work, like Shanghai, and he’s won on both of them so that’s another positive.”

Asked if Piastri has improved over one lap – having started from pole position both in China and Bahrain – Webber added: “Yeah, I think that’s, as a Formula 1 driver, a big component of your profession, so it’s something that’s not lost on him, that over your journey, when you’re up against Max, Charles [Leclerc], Lando, Lewis [Hamilton], like these guys in the first few years, there’s some serious artillery there over one lap.

POWER RANKINGS: Who made all the right moves under the lights at the Bahrain GP?

“And to put it all together, we know how sensitive it is to execute these cars and tyres on Saturday, so because of the intelligence of the boy and understanding what he needs to improve, yeah. But as I say to him, you have the most experience the day you retire, so keep learning.”

DISCOVER MORE...

Horner pledges ‘100% commitment’ to Red Bull amid rumours of Ferrari approach for team boss role

EXPLAINED: Everything you need to know about the Spanish Grand Prix front wing Technical Directive

5 must-see moments from the new 'F1: The Academy' Netflix show

F1 25 out now – with 'F1' movie integration and the return of ‘Braking Point’ story mode

GREATEST RACES #23: An F1 title decided by just half a point – 1984 Portuguese Grand Prix