Oscar Piastri’s latest revelation on social media conjured immense respect from the F1 community, as he kept a serious injury hidden for weeks. The Aussie fractured his rib during some time around the British GP, but he decided to keep it under the warps.
Piastri got his x-ray done on July 8, a day after the race in Silverstone. He somehow recovered in a few days and won the Hungarian GP, but no one got even the slightest of hints that he was in discomfort.
The Belgian GP was the last race before the summer break, which is why Piastri was asked about his summer plans at Spa Francorchamps. He answered,
“No golf for me. Maybe some paddle. I’ve been slightly broken for the last few weeks. I haven’t played for a bit. But I’m going on holiday with Lily, so that’ll be nice.”
The McLaren driver’s words were not taken seriously, and it was chalked off as normal F1 driver-level wear and tear. The oversight, however, can be blamed on his sentence formation which he felt, hinted at the injury.
Regardless, he eventually came out to reveal the full extent of his troubles on Sunday. He shared X-ray proof for the same, which goes on to highlight the tremendous work he put in, with a broken rib.
Oscar Piastri won his maiden race in F1 with a fractured rib
Piastri won his first-ever F1 race in Hungary. And his latest tweet confirmed that he did so with a fractured bone. His performance level took no hits because of it, and in fact, it raised his stocks as an F1 driver. In the last two races, he collected a total of 42 points out of a possible 52, as he capped off the first part of the season with a P2 in Spa.
The first part of the season done.
First GP victory.
First broken bone.
Rib’s enjoying the break pic.twitter.com/xee5myxNTP— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) August 11, 2024
The McLaren driver’s rise to the top is turning out to be meteoric. He made his debut in 2023 and is already a contender for wins on an almost-weekly basis. The former F2 and F2 Champion needs an F1 Title to complete the collection. That, however, could take some time.
For now, Piastri is focused on helping McLaren win the Constructors’ Title. His injury has healed, and he will be looking to perform at the highest level for the remaining 10 races to achieve the goal.
