Piastri: I definitely prefer to fight in the front row

Young drivers who start a career in Formula 1 often have to compete for not the strongest teams at first, which is quite logical. And if a newcomer ends up with the ‘strong middle farmers’, we can count him lucky.

But Oscar Piastri had a different fate in store: the champion of several junior series, including Formula 2, immediately made his debut at McLaren, in a very successful period, when the team was on the rise and making faster progress than all its rivals.

He scored his first points at his third attempt, was on the podium for the first time in his 16th race in Japan and took his first victory this year in Hungary. Consequently, there was no build-up period; we had to adapt to all the difficulties, including the pressure that is typical of Formula 1 and that is always felt more strongly by leading teams; we had to adapt very quickly. But as you might have guessed, Oscar is not complaining.

“I obviously don’t mind having to fight on the front row,” the Australian shared with a smile in an interview with GPblog. “I think if I were one of the outsiders, I would like to move to a team where I can fight for good results straight away. But because we weren’t at our best at the start of last season, I think that helped to manage the rising expectations.

However, when you become Lando Norris’ partner, the expectations are high anyway and it’s always difficult to compare yourself to a driver like that. I think because I didn’t claim big results straight away, it gradually helped me feel how ready I was – but it took some of the pressure off.

Of course I continue to study now, this process is ongoing. By the way, since I have experience fighting in different parts of the platoon, this is also not bad in a way.

I saw how motivated the team was to improve on the form we started last season and it was a real revelation because we are now performing at a completely different level. To be honest, I don’t think anyone could have predicted this.

“Although it was interesting to visit different parts of the peloton, I generally prefer to fight in the front rows. But when you can fight for victories, it is a special story.”