McLaren’s Oscar Piastri putting team before self despite sensational Baku win
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Fans with a cutout of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen during the pit-lane experience on Sept 19.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
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SINGAPORE – Oscar Piastri has every reason to be on cloud nine. It has been only four days since the Australian secured his second career victory in Formula One
On Lap 20 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Piastri executed a breathtaking overtake on Ferrari’s pole-sitter Charles Leclerc
Yet, in the fiercely competitive world of F1, there is little time for celebration.
At a press conference on Sept 19 ahead of the weekend’s Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, Piastri said when asked if he had relished his victory: “No, I got humbled quickly the next day when George (Russell) challenged me to a UNO world championship on the plane. So, I was brought back down to earth pretty fast.”
The 23-year-old lapped up the laughter in the room about his defeat in the card game, but added that his Baku triumph was a “confidence booster” heading into the Singapore race. He said: “It’s always nice when you can reflect on a race where you feel like you’ve done a very good job and a job you can be proud of. So not too much celebrating, but a lot of happy memories.”
Piastri has had more than just happy memories recently, having scored more points in the past seven races than any of his opponents, including both his teammate Lando Norris and three-time world champion Max Verstappen of Red Bull.
While his recent form may have come a little too late to mount a genuine title charge – Piastri is fourth in the drivers’ standings, 91 points behind leader Verstappen – he can play kingmaker and assist second-placed Norris
In this aspect, he is putting the team before himself. With the points gained from Baku, McLaren are leading the constructors’ standings for the first time since 2014, having last won the constructors’ championship in 1998. They will start the weekend in Singapore with a 20-point lead over Red Bull.
Piastri, who made his F1 debut only last season, said: “For me, maintaining the lead in the constructors’ championship now is by far a bigger target.
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri added that his Baku triumph was “confidence booster” heading into the Singapore race.
ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG
“I’m not out of the running for the drivers’ championship, but I think now, on average, I need to score like over 10 points more per weekend than Max.
“I can try and go out and win every race, but it’s now at the point where I need other things to start happening to win that. And for that to happen for seven races in a row is not very realistic.”
Before the Azerbaijan race, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the team would “bias” their approach towards Norris, as the driver closest to Verstappen.
Stella said that this approach would be reviewed after Baku, but Piastri said it has “not really changed anything”.
He added: “Lando is still ahead in the championship and, just being honest, has a more realistic chance of winning the championship. If I am in a position to still win races, that’s what I want to do. But, naturally, if there are times I can help out for Lando’s championship bid, then I’ll be happy to.”
Meanwhile, Red Bull will be hoping to bounce back in Singapore, with Verstappen hoping to end a run of seven races without a win.
However, it will not come easy at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, given that it was the only race they failed to win last season.
Verstappen has also not won on the tight street circuit. In 2023, both the Dutchman and teammate Sergio Perez failed to make it through to the final qualifying session.
Noting that “it’s not going to be our easiest weekend”, Verstappen is keeping his targets modest. He added: “Our car generally isn’t very good on bumps and kerbs. I don’t know even where to start. I’m confident we can do a better job than last year, but the competition has improved quite a bit.
“I’m definitely targeting Q3, put it like that.”
