After a strong rookie season with McLaren in 2023, Oscar Piastri became a race winner this season. As a result, his popularity has soared by leaps and bounds. While that was expected, Piastri finds it challenging to deal with.
During an interview with Lissie Mackintosh, Piastri reflects on his F1 journey to date. The excitement of driving the fastest cars in the world for a living is something the Aussie truly appreciates, and is grateful for.
“The thing that’s been the weirdest to get used to is people recognizing you,” Piastri says. “People recognizing you on the track, that’s one thing. But people recognizing you on the streets, and dinner and stuff, you can’t really train for that kind of stuff.”
Wrong trophy, questionable mohawk and bad plank but the porridge was decent pic.twitter.com/Bg9CzzdaBP
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) July 29, 2024
F1 drivers also have to appear in front of the media, for interviews and other duties. Teams also record segments for their YouTube channels and social media, which takes some getting used to.
“No one can teach you, or train you, how to be famous,” the Melbourne-born driver adds.
At the same time, Piastri recognizes that fame comes with being at the top. He appreciates everything the fans bring to the sport, and does not want to disappoint them.
“You do have to draw a line” – Piastri
Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris struggled a lot with fame, as it interfered with his personal life. In interviews, Norris spoke about how fans would stalk and approach him when he would be out for dinner with his friends, or a date.
Piastri hasn’t had similar problems so far, but admits to his F1 popularity taking a toll on his personal life. Not wanting to displease fans, Piastri also feels that they “have to draw” a line at some point, out of respect and understanding.
“But I wouldn’t say, it’s necessarily bad,” he says.
There aren’t a lot of people who cross their limits, which is why even though Piastri is taking time to get used to the F1 style of life, he enjoys it.
