Mark Webber reacts to landmark Oscar Piastri victory at Dutch GP

Oscar Piastri has equalled Mark Webber’s F1 win tally of nine grand prix victories following the Dutch Grand Prix.

It's an important victory for Piastri, who has opened up a 34-point lead over McLaren teammate Lando Norris in the F1 drivers’ championship.

Norris failed to finish after a chassis-related issue put him out of the race with seven laps to go.

The British driver has now failed to finish two of the 15 races so far this season.

On the other hand, Piastri is enjoying an impressive finishing streak, stretching back to 2023.

Webber, who is Piastri’s manager, reacted to his driver’s latest victory.

Like Piastri, Webber took nine wins in his F1 career.

However, Webber was unable to capitalise in 2010 when he was involved in a four-way title fight in Abu Dhabi.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Webber said: “Magnificent. He drove so well today.

“I don’t do many interviews about him, but I think today, big day for Australian motorsport,” Webber continued. “We’ve had Daniel [Ricciardo] win plenty, obviously Jack [Brabham] and AJ [Alan Jones].

“Oscar now, having this success so early in his career, is a real credit to him. He’s put a huge amount of work in, executed beautifully, and the team have done such a good job as well.

“I’m happy. We’ve had a lot of banter between the two of us. We have had a lot of banter. But’s he’s on me now, and I’m very, very, very happy.

Webber warns: “Long way to go”

Webber is refusing to get carried away about Piastri’s championship lead.

The former Red Bull driver made reference to tricky races in Brazil, Singapore or Azerbaijan, which will have a decisive impact on the title race.

“I think he’s going to, hopefully, keep going,” Webber added.

“Long way to go,” he cautioned. “I mean, we’ve got races like Brazil, where it rains. We’ve got Singapore, Azerbaijan, which are street circuits where anything can happen.

“So of course, like we say in cricket mate, we’d rather have the runs on the board than not.

“But, it’s a great day for him. He deserved the win.

“You’ve got to jag the points when you can. He’s had a few misses this year, out of his control.”