General
Will Piastri soon do things differently? 'Not massively'
- GPblog.com
Oscar Piastri has completed his first 12 weekends in Formula 1. Four times the 22-year-old driver finished in the points, but especially in recent weeks, he and McLaren have had a taste for it. But first he has over three weeks to enjoy the summer break and look back on his first half of the season. Does Piastri think he will approach certain things differently after the summer (now that he has more experience)?
Content with own approach
"Not massively, I don't think [taking a different approach]. I think I tried to keep the same approach all year, even when we were struggling at the back, whereas now we are at the front," Piastri explained to GPblog and others. "I think I've tried to keep the same approach for the whole year, even when we were struggling towards the back versus being at the front now. I think the motivation, of course, it gets a boost when you're fighting for trophies, but the hard work and the way of going about things is still the same. Trying to get the most out of the out of myself, that's no different whether you're fighting for third or 15th."
The 2021 Formula 2 champion continued: "It's just the prize you get at the end is a bit nicer. I don't think I'll change. Of course, I'll reflect on it and see if there's anything I should change or could do better. But I think on the whole, I've been quite happy with how I've approached things and I think I'll keep that.
Inside McLaren, they are also very pleased with Piastri, perhaps also a little surprised. The current championship number 11 is often immediately competitive and can match up well with his experienced teammate Lando Norris, a sign that Piastri is travelling to the GPs well prepared. Moreover, his feedback is very similar to Norris', said team boss Andrea Stella.
Aims for place among first three
As of the British Grand Prix, Piastri is driving with updates. A podium there seemed possible for a long time, but the race was just too long, allowing Lewis Hamilton to pass him in the closing stages. A fifth place followed two weeks later in Hungary. With current form and the strong MCL60, a podium finish in his rookie season is not out of the question.
"There was a few points in the season where I thought getting points would be good. So it's a very pleasant surprise to be fighting for podiums now and yet to be able to do it on merit on a couple of different tracks with different conditions now is a massive confidence boost. Probably gone from maybe worse than we all expected to better than we expected. So it's been a nice turnaround."
Piastri has already been on the podium once this year in Formula 1, but that was not on a Sunday. In Belgium, he finished second in the sprint race.