Big ambitions for Piastri as season draws to a close
After a break of several weeks, F1 returns to Zandvoort this weekend. It's an opportunity for each driver to announce their end-of-season objectives, as Oscar Piastri has done. The Australian says he's ready to fight for victories and hopes to move up the standings in the final ten races.
The Dutch Grand Prix marks the return of Formula 1 after a well-deserved summer break. Drivers and teams took advantage of this break to recharge their batteries and analyze data in order to find more performance. Among them, Oscar Piastri, a McLaren driver, says he is fully prepared to tackle this second part of the season, he who has proven to be one of the in-form men before the break.
After several satisfactory results at the beginning of the season, notably a second place at the Monaco Grand Prix, the former Formula 2 and Formula 3 champion had four spectacular weekends in a row. In Austria, he took advantage of an accident between Lando Norris and Max Verstappen in the main race to secure a second place, repeating his performance in the sprint race the day before. At Silverstone, a poor strategy prevented him from achieving a better result, finishing in fourth place despite the opportunity to aim higher.
In Hungary, Piastri clinched the first win of his Formula 1 career, outpacing his teammate Lando Norris. Finally, in the last race at Spa, he crossed the line in third position, glued to the wheels of the two Mercedes, before inheriting second place following George Russell’s disqualification. These outstanding performances allow him to close the gap with his British teammate, with a difference of only 32 points, while bringing McLaren closer to Red Bull in the constructors’ standings. In Zandvoort, the former Prema driver hopes to continue this positive streak on a circuit that seems to suit the McLaren well.
» I can’t wait to get back on track. It was nice to take a break and relax, but I’m now ready to get back into action for this second part of the season. Zandvoort is always an exciting race weekend, with some really impressive banked corners, » the Australian declared.
The McLaren driver intends to capitalize on his momentum. With two consecutive podiums in the last two races, he is the driver who has scored the most points during this period. He hopes to maintain this dynamic and progress in the drivers’ championship. “I was very pleased with my driving before the break, and it was great to win in Hungary and finish second in Spa. I will work hard to continue to climb in the standings,” he added.
Currently fourth in the championship with 167 points, the Australian is only 10 points behind Charles Leclerc, who drives a Ferrari that is increasingly struggling as the races go by. A close fight is looming for the second half of the season, where McLaren could take advantage of Ferrari and Red Bull’s underperformances to climb up the standings, even aiming for a constructors’ title that has eluded them since 1998.
