Oscar Piastri has steadily found his feet in F1 as McLaren have also provided him with a competitive car to show his prowess. After winning his maiden Grand Prix in Hungary, the Australian driver did not show much emotion during his triumphant moment. However, Piastri stated that his rivals should not underestimate him due to his calm demeanor.
Speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, the 23-year-old answered a question on whether he is ruthless enough. He said, “Just because I’m calm doesn’t mean that I’m not ruthless. I don’t wanna be seen as a pest on track but you have to earn your respect. I feel like that’s something that I’ve done and try to race people hard but fair.”
“you think you’re ruthless enough? To win the wdc?”
“Just because I’m calm doesn’t mean that I’m not ruthless.”
“I don’t wanna be seen as a pest on track but you have to earn your respect.
I feel like that’s something that I’ve done and try to race people hard but fair.” pic.twitter.com/qAxkYCdo0v— ella₈₁༉ (@lawyerofoscar) July 29, 2024
Piastri came into F1 with his impeccable junior career record as a precedent. Thus, many experts rated him highly and the expectations were high. And the Aussie has started living up to those expectations regularly now.
While he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities to compete at the sharp end of the grid, Piastri has been ruthless enough to race hard but fair, as he claimed. The Austrian GP sprint race this year is a good case in point of how Piastri did not back out of the battle with Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.
Even at the Hungarian GP race start, the 23-year-old held his own as he competed against Norris and Verstappen to take the lead of the race into turn one. So, while Piastri doesn’t lose his calm in pressure situations, he is no pushover.
Piastri’s calmness in the Hungarian GP strategy debacle
When McLaren opted to pit Norris ahead of him at the second round of stops in Hungary, Piastri had all the reason to feel angry. He was leading the race by a comfortable margin and yet his teammate got the priority. It naturally gave Norris an undercut advantage, as he took the lead of the race when Piastri pitted.
In order to be ‘fair’ to Piastri, McLaren issued team orders to Norris for letting the Aussie by. But, Norris hesitated in obliging to his team’s orders, which could have easily annoyed Piastri. However, Piastri kept his cool and only came on the radio during the final few laps to reiterate the urgency to swap before it got too late.
When asked by Autosport how he can remain so calm during such a tense situation, Piastri said, “I think just finding that right balance and finding out what works for you is important… Yes, there’s a radio button, but you can say things without pushing the button…”
The 23-year-old has rarely offended anyone during a battle in F1 so far. However, that may change if Piastri gets into a championship fight. Then, there is a chance that the Aussie may need to push himself to the limit and be more demanding of his team.
