Alpine reserve driver Oscar Piastri came to Melbourne for the first time with the Formula 1 team. The Australian shared his thoughts on the return of the home stage to the championship calendar and assessed the team’s results in the first races of the season.
Oscar Piastri: Surely it must be great to celebrate a birthday for a week and visit your home Grand Prix as a reserve driver?
Oscar Piastric: There is no doubt that I will have a busy week! The Wednesday before the weekend is my birthday and we are organizing the Australian Grand Prix for the first time in years. Full stands with fans are expected and an eventful weekend, which I am looking forward to. I’m happy to see my family on top of everything else.
Q: Have you seen the updated track? What do you think of the changes?
Oscar Piastric: I saw and can say that the new configuration is much faster than the old one. I don’t know for how many seconds, but I’ve already worked on the simulator and I can say that the track has become much faster. During the reconstruction, the chicane was removed, effectively revealing another long straight line, ending with a right turn.
I think we’ll see interesting overtaking moves, because with modern cars you can fight side by side at high speeds. It will be interesting! The newer cars are easier to chase rivals, so I think the new setup suits modern cars.
Q: How do you evaluate the results of the team in the first two races of the season?
Oscar PiastricA: I think we have good results. In Bahrain we earned points with two cars. The potential was to achieve a little more, but finishing in the top ten in the first race with two cars is a good result for the team.
In Saudi Arabia we also looked good, but unfortunately there were technical problems with Fernando Alonso’s car. The start of the season turned out to be very promising and I’m sure we will achieve a lot!
Q: Has working with the team in the pit lane and in the pits helped you to look at Formula 1 differently?
Oscar Piastric: Doubtless. In Formula 1 there is much more communication with fans and the press than in youth racing series. This is the main thing I had to get used to. For the rest, Alpine is exactly the same team, only it performs at a higher level.
I believe all the best racing teams have a few things in common. Being able to be in the boxes and listen to all the negotiations is very useful. I try to learn as much as possible so that I can use what I have learned when I get to the start.
Source: F1 News
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