Oscar Piastri claims adaptability is his biggest strength as he has ‘driven a new car pretty much every year’
After tasting success as the Sprint Race winner at the Qatar GP, Oscar Piastri recently talked about what is the greatest strength that gives him an edge as a Formula 1 driver.
Oscar piastri (via imago)
Oscar Piastri has had a brilliant rookie season and his talents have only shone brighter as McLaren’s competitiveness continues to rise. The Aussie youngster has already taken his first win in a Sprint Race at the Qatar GP. The Australian, in his interview for Speedcafe.com, spoke about his first season and the reason behind his pace.
The driver mentioned how he has been moving up the Formula programs since 2020 and has necessarily driven a new car every year. He said, “Throughout the junior formulae, I’ve driven a new car pretty much every year so, getting used to specific characteristics, is nothing new. I just try to adapt and extract the most from it.”
Piastri won the 2020 F3 Championship, graduating to F2 in 2021 where he was the Champion again. Oscar stepped up to the Formula 1 class in 2023. While his first few races turned out to be unremarkable, he got a P4 finish at the British GP and proved his critics wrong. Since then, he has displayed incredible pace at almost every outing for McLaren. He talked about what is to come for the papaya army in the remainder of the season. He said, “Every car has its own characteristics and I think we know as a team where we need to improve with this one. Lando and I have given pretty similar feedback and we are all working to strengthen the package.”
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Max Verstappen claims McLaren has the best driver line-up in 2023
McLaren had a fantastic outing at the Qatar GP weekend as Piastri brought them the Sprint win. Oscar Piastri, the rookie on the team outshone his teammate Lando Norris on Saturday and claimed a podium finish at the Grand Prix. Lando finished P3, achieving a double podium for the Woking Wonders. Max Verstappen, who is en route a record-breaking season, commented on the team’s progress while applauding the two youngsters.
The Dutch driver said, “I do think that as a team, they are probably the most consistent – compared to the others behind us. And I do think they have the best driver line-up out of all of them. So yeah, they are operating really well. And, yeah, it’s going to be interesting to the end of the year, but also, I think, the start of next year to see where everyone is at.” Verstappen’s comment hints at how he sees McLaren as Red Bull’s closest competitor for the remaining races and even the next season.
At the start of this season, McLaren had taken a big gamble by going for two young drivers while letting an experienced racer like Daniel Ricciardo go. Nevertheless, the decision appears to have paid off for the British factory as they are on their way towards the very top. They are currently only 11 points behind Aston Martin and might snatch the 4th place in the Constructors’ Championship in the upcoming United States GP.
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Himanshu Chavan
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