Oscar Piastri Had to Overcome Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso Fears Before Settling Down in F1: “They Are Not Alien”

Oscar Piastri is one of the most humble drivers in the paddock as he feels no entitlement despite having an outstanding rookie season so far. The Australian has gone toe to toe with some of the biggest names in the sport such as Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, two drivers who he views as his idols.

In a recent interview with The Guardian, Piastri explained how he took time to adjust in F1 as it was “intimidating” for him to go up against the likes of Alonso and Hamilton in his very first season. However, the McLaren driver believes that he got over his nerves pretty quickly and soon realized that both the Spaniard and the Briton are not aliens.

“You have people like Lewis [Hamilton] or Fernando with 15, 20 years of experience and when you start racing against guys you grew up watching on TV it can be a little bit daunting. But at the same time it is pretty special to be able to race against those guys and to be able to fight against them is a nice reassurance that they are not alien,” explained Piastri.

Piastri has indeed been unfazed by the challenges he has faced this season as he has been outstanding, especially after the summer break. The driver from Melbourne has finished on the podium twice in his past three races. Moreover, he also won the sprint in Qatar.

The way Piastri’s results have improved as the season has passed is just a testament to his racing talent coupled with the maturity that he has developed. Although the Australian‘s career has just started, he is aiming for a long one like Hamilton.

Oscar Piastri hopes to race till he’s 40

While speaking in an interview with speedcafe.com, Oscar Piastri explained how he is confident of racing for at least another 18 years as long as he enjoys doing the same. “If I’m still driving race cars and loving what I’m doing at 40 years old, I think that’s a pretty good 18 years of my life well spent,” he said.

The Australian then used Lewis Hamilton as an example by adding, “When you’ve had the amount of success that Lewis has had, I can imagine why he loves it so much, and I think we all start out racing because we love it“. Piastri, who has won both the F3 and the F2 championship, will now hope to replicate a similar level of success in F1.