Piastri: I set goals for myself and try to achieve them

Oscar Piastri spoke in an interview with Speedcafe about his debut season with McLaren, with only two races left to complete. The year turned out differently for the young Australian, not everything went the way he wanted, but he gradually gathered knowledge and experience, picked up speed and already reached the podium a few times.

Q: How encouraged are you by the progress you’ve made throughout the season and what are your thoughts on preparing for 2024?

Oscar Piastri: I think it was very rewarding to see the impact the technical innovations had: as soon as the first set of updates at Silverstone was installed on my car, fortunately the picture changed immediately and the problems we encountered in the first half of 2012 resolved the season was a thing of the past.

These changes for the better are encouraging as they mean that the work being done to modernize the car at the team’s core is being borne out by the results on track, and we hope this trend will continue next year.

The pace of progress is very encouraging. I think we were actually surprised that the car was able to keep such a good pace, even on tracks that we weren’t sure would be suitable for the MCL60. And this is another reason for cautious optimism.

Question: Let’s forget for a moment that there are still two races to go before the end of the season: did your debut season in Formula 1 meet or exceed expectations?

Oscar Piastri: I think every racer always wants to achieve more. That’s how we are programmed, so of course there are times when we want to improve.

Initially it was clear that this would be a very intensive learning process, because there are a lot of new things for me this year: new tracks, a new team, new people.

At the same time there were absolutely wonderful moments, for example winning the sprint and taking 2nd place in the Qatar Grand Prix, my first podium in Formula 1 in Japan and 2nd place in the Saturday sprint in Spa. I consider the race at Silverstone as one of these moments, where I missed the chance to get on the podium, behind Lewis Hamilton, but only because the safety car appeared on track at the most inopportune moment. But I definitely learned a lot this year.

Q: There are suggestions that your first year in Formula 1 could be compared to Lewis Hamilton’s debut season. How do you respond to these kinds of comments and comparisons?

Oscar Piastri: To be honest, I try not to pay much attention to it. Of course it is nice to receive recognition and support, and I am very grateful for that. But that’s all: although I receive a lot of nice messages through social networks, I try to read them less.

Ultimately, I set certain goals for myself and I know when I’m doing well and when I’m not doing well. That’s why I try to achieve these goals. Furthermore, in Lewis’s day there were completely different testing rules and there were no sprint races, making it impossible to make real comparisons.

Q: Andrea Stella and Zac Brown always speak highly of you. How important is this to you?
Oscar Piastri: Zach and Andrea treat me well and when I first arrived at McLaren I received a fantastic welcome. From my very first day at the McLaren Technology Center I felt at home. The trust they have shown me and their desire to extend my contract with the team until 2026 gives me confidence.

It is very important that Andrea has a wealth of technical experience, and communicating with such a specialist in the first year of my career is a real advantage. I enjoy working with him and Zach.

Question: If you have already experienced the Las Vegas circuit in the simulator, what do you think?

Oscar Piastri: It’s quite a long circuit – I think it’s only longer than the Spa and Jeddah circuits. It also has a fairly organic configuration with long straights and high-speed sections. I believe it is very fast, and since the aerodynamic body kits of the cars will be about the same as in Monza or Spa, the speeds will be very high.

It’s hard to say how it will go there until we practice on a real track and get a feel for its character, but I hope we can do well in Las Vegas.

Question: If you had not become a Formula 1 driver, what profession would you have chosen?

Oscar Piastri: I think I would do something with technology. During my school days I was always interested in science, so I would probably try to find something related to cars in this field. I love tinkering with technology, I love the analytical process of refining it, when you’re trying to make everything in the machine work better and more efficiently.