Aussie F1 rookie Oscar Piastri pumped up for home grand prix
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McLaren's Australian driver Oscar Piastri's main focus in 2023 is to set the foundations for a long F1 career.
PHOTO: AFP
Melbourne – Rookie McLaren driver Oscar Piastri grew up 15 minutes away from the Australian Grand Prix circuit and used to play cricket on the ovals being used as the race paddock.
Now 21, he is preparing for a dream debut at Albert Park – only his third race in Formula One – in front of an estimated 140,000 fans on Sunday to cap a meteoric rise.
“I played Aussie Rules footy and cricket on some of the ovals that are now the paddock, so yeah, very special to be home this weekend,” said the Australian, seen as one of the sport’s hottest young talent.
His opening two races were a mixed bag, coming 15th in Saudi Arabia and failing to finish his debut grand prix in Bahrain.
But he was encouraged by his performance in Jeddah and is determined to build on it following some upgrades to the car.
“Qualifying (in Saudi Arabia) especially gave me a lot of confidence that the way we’re working is the right way,” he said.
“I didn’t really change that much from Bahrain but the results were much different, getting into Q3. It was a nice confidence boost. We’ll try our best obviously (to score points in Australia).”
Piastri finished 12th and 14th in Friday’s two practice sessions.
Fernando Alonso topped the timesheets for Aston Martin in a rain-hit second practice, posting a lap of 1min 18.887sec, nearly half a second clear of Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc.
Red Bull’s Max Verstappen was third quickest ahead of Mercedes’ George Russell.
On the sidelines, Daniel Ricciardo has said that he still has the hunger to compete in F1, even though he left McLaren at the end of last season, a year before his contract ran out, to make way for Piastri.
The Australian had opted to take time away from the sport’s demanding schedule before signing on as Red Bull’s reserve driver.
As part of the deal, he will attend only a handful of the 23 races this season and is at his first this weekend at Albert Park, where he has a grandstand named in his honour and was mobbed by fans on Friday.
The Australian media said he underwent a seat fitting and was taking part in Red Bull’s team strategy meetings.
“The signs are pointing towards getting back on the grid,” the 33-year-old said.
“I want to be back with a top team, and a team where I have that confidence back and my mojo.” AFP, REUTERS