It’s often said once a driver wins a race, there’s a massive pressure that is taken off their shoulders and they become more relaxed. That might be true for most but it’s not true for Oscar Piastri. The young 23-year-old is oozing confidence and is a perfect example of maturity at a young age. So despite missing out on getting his first race win at Silverstone, he’s in no hurry to get the monkey off his back.
Piastri has been incredible since the mid-season upgrades last year. He proved all the hype surrounding him and then some with his Qatar GP Sprint race pole and win. However, despite being the fastest on most tracks in 2024, McLaren has only secured one race win. For Piastri, it’s more about the missed opportunities than the eagerness to win a race in the premier class. Speaking to Speedcafe, he highlighted his disappointment regarding the outcome of the race more than losing out on his first win.
“There’s not really, I guess, the pressure or the urgency [to win a race],” Piastri explained. “A lot of people say ‘get the monkey off their back’ or stuff, like that. For me, that’s now how it would feel. I think Austria in particular and even Silverstone, I was disappointed to have missed out, but not from a point of view like ‘damn, I could have got that off me back’, more like we had a chance to win an F1 race and we didn’t manage to do it.”
Calm and composed, the McLaren man pointed out he’s not concerned with a single race win. His current goal is to maximize points and if that comes with a race win, so be it. The level of confidence and maturity is truly commendable. However, he was ever so close to a win during the British GP.
How Oscar Piastri lost the race during the 2024 British GP
Despite starting in 5th, Piastri was once the leader of the chaotic race at Silverstone. The young Aussie not only overtook Max Verstappen for 4th place. He also picked up the two Mercedes men ahead of him with pure skill. He was extremely fast in the well-maintained tries on his MCL38 during the first bout of rain. However, his team decided to keep him out for one lap longer which cost him the lead.
Look at how much Oscar Piastri lost out compared to Lando Norris (straight orange line) & Lewis Hamilton by being told to stay out another lap in the rain.
Then look how much time he made back on his last stint.
No one lost out on more in Silverstone than Piastri. pic.twitter.com/CLunen3z5I
— Daniel Valente ️ (@F1GuyDan) July 10, 2024
He lost enough time during that one lap to come out in 6th behind Carlos Sainz during the race. From that point onwards, he could not recover and only managed to secure P4 in a race he could’ve potentially won with perfectly timed calls and strategy. Something similar happened in Austria as well as he finished P2 behind George Russell.
Had the young Australian given the right strategy he could’ve caught Russell and eventually won the race after the leaders of the race collided. So even though he’s missed out on a better result in the last couple of races, he’s calm. The focus is still on maximizing output and not collecting personal accolades. Perhaps he knows the time for that will come later in his career.
