Oscar Piastri thinks that he is not wasting time by not being a regular F1 driver in 2022 and also ignoring other motorsport avenues to compete.
After winning an F2 championship, it is natural to expect that particular driver to be in the F1 grid, provided there’s a vacant seat. However, in this year’s promotion to the 2022 F1 grid from 2022, Oscar Piastri is not the name.
Though, the Australian race driver will be taking up the role of Alpine reserve driver. He has denied competing in F2 this year or any other motorsport competitions and would be in every Alpine travelling contingent.
Like other F1 exclusions, he could also have gone on another motorsport competition to develop himself further. However, he thinks he can still learn at Alpine in 2022, and he’s not wasting time as a reserve driver.
“I definitely don’t think it will be a wasted year,” Piastri said. “It goes without saying that I would have loved to have been on the grid, but, I think I said when we first announced the reserve role, [there’s] a lot of the things I can pick up [this] year.
“Like the travelling schedule of an F1 season, having to adapt to that without the pressure of having to actually drive, is actually quite beneficial, I guess.”
Also read: Ferrari Driver Academy star feels F2 champion Oscar Piastri deserves a 2023 F1 seat at any cost
Oscar Piastri to learn from his seniors
The Australian race driver holds high opinions of Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. Therefore, he believes he has a lot to learn from the starting Alpine duo.
i hate living in a world where oscar piastri and nyck de vries don’t have f1 seats
— kimi (@hamilclerc) January 22, 2022
“Taking these steps without the pressure of having to go out and drive,” he said. “Listening to Fernando and Esteban. Also, with a new car for [the] year, I can listen to how the car’s developing, and with all my work in the sim, I can try and contribute to that.
“There’s a lot of other things, outside of driving, that make a good F1 driver, make a successful F1 driver. So I think they’re definitely the aspects that I can work on next year. One of the main parts of my role next year is to learn as much as I can from Fernando and Esteban.”
