Oscar Piastri may not have thought when he left Alpine for McLaren ahead of the 2023 Formula 1 season that he would already be a Grand Prix winner.
McLaren recognised Oscar Piastri’s talent after he won back-to-back Formula 3 and Formula 2 championships and couldn’t believe their luck that Alpine hadn’t immediately placed the Australian in one of their F1 cars.
They were waiting for Fernando Alonso to move on to Aston Martin, but by then it was too late and McLaren have snapped up the youngster in one of the smartest moves in the driver’s market for some time.
Zak Brown and Andrea Stella then led the team behind the scenes perfectly, and suddenly Piastri and teammate Lando Norris had a car capable of winning races in 2024 when 18 months ago they were bottom of the team standings.
Fast forward to the end of last season and a Norris victory in Abu Dhabi secured McLaren’s first Constructors’ Championship this century.
Piastri couldn’t really contribute that day after being spun by Max Verstappen on the opening lap before picking up a penalty for crashing into the back of Franco Colapinto.
While that would have been a stressful day for Piastri, speaking on the Back At Base Podcast, he admitted there was one event that was much more difficult.
That’s not necessarily because of what happened on track, but rather what was happening in the cockpit.
Oscar Piastri says the 2024 British Grand Prix was ‘pretty nasty’ after being injured
The 23-year-old won his first Grand Prix in Hungary but was carrying an injury into the summer break.
Piastri broke his rib last year and explaining how it happened, he said: “It was just from driving.
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“So I hurt it around Austria, so Silverstone was a pretty nasty weekend, and the next couple of races as well were a bit sore.
“But we changed a few things with my seat and stuff to make it a bit more comfy, but no, there’s no drama or dramatic stories, simply just from driving a race car”
There wasn’t a notable drop in Piastri’s performances after he suffered the injury.
He ended up on the podium in Austria after Norris and Verstappen collided before briefly leading the British Grand Prix he was complaining about in mixed conditions.
However, a strategy error meant he missed out on the podium and Norris couldn’t secure victory.
Piastri then won in Hungary and finished second again in Belgium before the summer break when he was able to recuperate properly for the final 11 Grand Prix of the season.
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Piastri finished fourth in the Drivers’ Championship last year and while 82 points behind Norris, he’ll be pleased with the progress he’s making at this point in his career.
He’s up against much more experienced drivers at the top teams, although the promotion of Liam Lawson at Red Bull and Andrea Kimi Antonelli at Mercedes will be interesting benchmarks for the 23-year-old.
The Australian will be aware that he needs to keep improving if he wants to be considered a championship candidate.
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Piastri has identified qualifying as an area to improve in 2025, with Norris matching Verstappen’s number of pole positions last year, while he continues to search for his first in F1.
His race pace can be exceptional and the way he won the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from Charles Leclerc proves he can perform under extreme pressure.
The trick for Piastri is whether he can begin to do that consistently and get the better of Norris, Verstappen and both Ferrari drivers in wheel-to-wheel racing.
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