Oscar Piastri: I’ll try to think of something myself

Both McLaren drivers took their first wins this season. After finishing first in Hungary, Oscar Piastri spoke about his feelings…

Q: Oscar, you’ve been dreaming of this moment since you were a kid. Is it nice to look down from the top step of the podium?
Oscar Piastri: Very nice! Below are a lot of Australian flags, very cool. Incredible moment. It’s always nice to be on the podium in Formula 1, but it’s even nicer to reach the top, so I’m very happy.

I said that my first dream in my career is to get into Formula 1. The second is to win the Grand Prix. Now I am happy and proud, and not only for myself, but also for everyone who helped me achieve this. First of all, I am talking about my family. I had to make a lot of big decisions at a young age and leave Australia to pursue my Formula 1 dream. And yes, I am proud that those decisions paid off and that we were able to make it happen!

Q: How different are the emotions now compared to winning the sprint in Qatar last year?
Oscar Piastri: Very different! I remember feeling a bit uncomfortable then. It’s a victory, but not really. Winning a race is much more important than winning a sprint. Now there are no questions, no doubts whether I’m a winner or not. And the emotions are completely different.

Q: Can we talk strategy? Why didn’t you pit first, given the advantage you and Lando had in that race? It would be a lot easier…
Oscar Piastri: We will discuss this with the team. At that time I had information that Lando would leave earlier to cover Lewis, and that I would go ahead to cover Max, because I knew he would change the tires later. This gave Lando an advantage. But I am sure we will get through this.

Q: Oscar, what were you thinking when you were behind Lando? Were you afraid you wouldn’t get the lead back? How much fear did you have in the last laps?
Oscar Piastri: I don’t think I was worried about it. The only thing I was a little bit worried about was the Safety Car. If it had come out on track, we would have lost control of the situation. You know, I trust the team completely, including Lando, I knew we would succeed.

Q: Why couldn’t you close the gap to Lando in the final stint despite having newer tyres?
Oscar Piastri: We were equal in speed throughout the distance, and in the last segment it was affected by the fact that I was driving in a disturbed airflow behind his car. I just wasn’t as fast as I needed to be in the last stint. This is something I want to improve.

You know, I’m very happy with the result, but I’m not completely satisfied with my performance. There are still things I want to improve. The track position played a big role today and that’s why a good start was so important, but during the course the car didn’t have enough speed – and this needs to be solved.

Q: I have a three-part question. Is the win what you were hoping for? What is Mark Webber’s role in your career? And why didn’t anyone drink from a shoe on stage?
Oscar Piastri: I think I haven’t fully realized this victory yet. I’m not very emotional in life, it’s unlikely that you will see bright emotions from me, but I expected the victory. I dreamed of this since childhood, in the last races we had a chance, and this time everything turned out fine.

Mark Webber’s influence has been huge in all areas. Mark and Anne are very important to me on many levels. They’ve done an incredible amount of work behind the scenes, whether it was my junior career, my move into Formula 1 or my partnership with McLaren. Mark had a long and successful career in Formula 1 and now he’s using that experience to protect me from various pitfalls, various pitfalls that he may have fallen into himself.

His influence is incredibly important. He’s been part of a championship team for most of his career and I think that’s important not just for me but for the whole team.

Drinking from a shoe? This is Daniel Ricciardo’s trick and I will try to come up with something new. Let this be his legacy and I will create my own.