Last year, you achieved your first Grand Prix podium, in September in Japan, followed a week later by a victory in the sprint race in Qatar and you finished 9th in the championship, an honorable ranking for a beginner. What was the most difficult thing to manage during this first year?
Oscar Piastri: Probably the calendar, especially the second half of the season, with a lot of races outside Europe, a lot of new circuits as well while trying to manage my energy,… it was difficult. Learning all the new circuits wasn’t easy either. Compared to the lower categories in which I raced (he was titled in F3 in 2020 and in F2 the following year, editor’s note) here (in F1), we have drivers… look at Lando (Norris, his teammate) , who is still very young (24 years old) and who, however, has already been on all the circuits five times. The pace of learning is therefore very important.
Today you are lined up against Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton. How does it feel to fight against these world champions?
OP: I grew up watching Lewis and Fernando on TV in the early 2010s. I didn’t watch Fernando’s early career because I wasn’t born yet (laughs), but it’s cool to race against these guys. I worked alongside Fernando in 2022 (Alonso was then Alpine driver, when Piastri was reserve driver, editor’s note) and I certainly learned a lot from him during this season. But when we’re on the track, they’re just drivers among the drivers I’m trying to beat. In certain situations, we still realize how special it is.
An anecdote for example?
OP: It was in Saudi Arabia, I qualified on the same line as Lewis for my second race in F1 (he started 8th, ahead of Hamilton 7th). When I stood on the grid, I didn’t notice it at all, but someone sent me a photo afterwards of the TV image of Lewis and me side by side. It was pretty special to see and really cool.
In 2022, you were the third Alpine driver, remaining in the shadow of the incumbents. How did you experience this before arriving at McLaren?
OP: I got a taste of what the world of F1 is like, the paddock and off-track activities but I would definitely have preferred to drive. Unfortunately, it didn’t turn out that way. I still learned as much as I could, even though it would have been more beneficial to be racing.
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Being an F1 driver also means being in enormous demand. Do you like this, knowing that you are rather discreet?
OP: We make it as fun as possible! I’m an F1 driver because I love driving. I didn’t become an F1 driver to do interviews. As for sponsors, they are a very big part of the sport – and this is what also allows Formula 1 to exist alongside the fans. But what I like most is to go fast and try to beat the others. I understand that everything else is part of the job and necessary to give me a career and a livelihood. But the most entertaining thing by far is the driving.
You are considered by many in the paddock as a future world champion. Do you feel any particular pressure?
OP: Compliments are nice. I have to work hard to achieve this and the team has to do the same. But it’s certainly better than hearing the opposite.
