Wrong strategy calls in Silverstone may have ruined Oscar Piastri’s chances of getting a podium at the 2024 British GP, but that didn’t stop the Aussie from having fun. He decided to follow in the footsteps of his compatriot Daniel Ricciardo until he wished he hadn’t.
Ricciardo became famous for his shoey celebrations on F1 podiums. He would fill his shoe up with champagne and drink it up, often asking other drivers to join him in the process. It has been a while since the Honey Badger won races or got podiums in F1, so Piastri decided to remind fans of his country’s custom.
Piastri shared a shoey with teammate Lando Norris on the Silverstone stage during a fan event last weekend. And it seems as though he isn’t a huge fan of it. On Instagram, Piastri wrote, that he would “highly recommend a glass” with a video of him and Norris doing the shoey.
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Norris, however, knew what was coming when he took the sip out of the shoe. During Ricciardo’s last F1 win in Monza two years ago, he was on the podium (since he finished P2) and the Honey Badger made him do a shoey.
Fans had fun looking at the McLaren duo performing a rarely-seen tradition on the stage. But the papaya outfit faithful would have loved watching Piastri do the same on the podium.
‘Bittersweet’ British GP for McLaren and Piastri
On X, McLaren share reports from every race weekend with fans, and they labeled the 2024 British GP as bittersweet. Norris and Piastri finished P3 and P4 respectively, earning McLaren a total of 27 points, which was the most out of any team that weekend.
“We leave this weekend with a bittersweet taste”
Hear from Lando, Oscar and Andrea after the #BritishGP.
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) July 7, 2024
This was a huge boost in the Woking-based squad’s efforts to close the gap to Red Bull in their pursuit of the Constructors’ Title. However, it was also a missed opportunity for both Norris and Piastri.
Without a wrong strategy call, Norris could have won the race considering the pace of his MCL38. Piastri meanwhile, could have at least finished in the podium places. Unfortunately, for the Melbourne-born driver, P4 was the best he could achieve.
Heading into the remaining two races before the summer break, McLaren would want to iron out its strategy execution woes. Otherwise, they are leaving a lot of race wins on the table with Verstappen or Mercedes ready to capitalize on those chances.
