Oscar Piastri: Leading my first laps is a day I will never forget
The young Australian driver led his first laps in an F1 race during the Sprint on Sunday. While he ultimately gave way to Max Verstappen, he is thrilled with the work accomplished.
What a weekend for Oscar Piastri so far. The McLaren Australian driver initially qualified 5th for Sunday’s race, two positions ahead of his teammate Lando Norris so far. But the real drama unfolded on Friday when he missed out on pole position for the Sprint by just 0.011 seconds behind Max Verstappen. The young driver expressed his frustration over the radio, proving that he didn’t come here to just make up the numbers.
Then, in the Sprint, he led his first laps of the Formula 1 race, in his first year in the premier category. Oscar Piastri took advantage of a poor tire change call for Max Verstappen and then took the lead, although the Dutchman quickly regained his position. The Australian finished the sprint in 2nd place, earning 7 points. He now sits 10th in the drivers’ standings, with 34 points.
In the post-sprint press conference, Oscar Piastri spoke about his joy of leading a Formula 1 race for the first time. “Very, very happy, we did our best. We took the lead when the safety car came in, leading for a few laps, I did my best but we couldn’t match Max’s pace. It was good to be up there in P2. I think, apart from Max, our pace was really strong, so all the credit goes once again to the team,” he explains.
Max Verstappen is looking forward to racing against Piastri
The Australian is particularly delighted with the incredible progress made by his team since the introduction of the upgrades package at Silverstone. “These past three weekends have been quite special compared to where we were. I cannot thank them enough for the car. We still have some work to do – clearly – to reach the top, but it’s much nicer to be up there. Leading my first laps was a day I will never forget,” admitted the 22-year-old driver.
Max Verstappen was also delighted to compete against a new driver. A little fresh blood never hurts in F1. “It’s always good. I mean, I’ve been in that position too, when the younger guy comes in. It’s nice, and it’s also great. I think Oscar has had a very solid season overall, but I also think that this weekend, he really gave it his all. It’s always nice to, essentially for the first time, race against each other,” he said to the journalists.
“Things are moving in the right direction”
Oscar Piastri also reflected on his development as an F1 driver during this first season. “I feel like it’s going well. I wouldn’t say it’s particularly linear in my development. I feel like Silverstone was the best weekend so far. I think in Budapest, there were still some things I needed to learn and improve. I think here, it was obviously quite solid today,” he stated on Saturday.
He also commented on the unpredictable weather since the beginning of the weekend, which is expected to act up again this Sunday. “Yesterday, maybe there was still a bit of leeway. So, it’s not always straightforward. Especially in the conditions we’ve had this weekend, it’s so easy to always want more and more, and then you find yourself hitting a wall. So, I have to keep my expectations in check,” he explained.
However, progress is clearly being felt: “I feel that overall, it’s heading in the right direction. I’m becoming more and more comfortable with the car. Of course, the car is much, much better now than it was at the beginning of the year, which of course helps, both in terms of how the car feels and also knowing that if you do a good job, you can fight for the top three positions. There will be ups and downs, for sure, but I hope that there will be more ups,” he concluded. Tune in this afternoon from 3 p.m. to find out if this Belgian Grand Prix will be a high or a low for the Australian.
