Piastri proud to play minor role in Alpine Hungary F1 win

The Alpine Academy driver was part of the team’s race support staff on the Friday of the Hungarian GP weekend, working late into the night conducting setup work on Alpine’s simulator at the team’s Enstone base.

Currently in his second year of the programme, the FIA Formula 2 Championship leader has stepped up his simulator duties with the team this season.

Piastri then headed to Monza to undertake the latest test in Alpine’s R.S.18 F1 programme that took place on Monday. The Australian was at the Italian circuit with the test team on Sunday watching Ocon’s run to victory at the Hungaroring unfold on the track’s big screen.

“I did a couple of days in the sim so I was actually on the race support team on the Friday night, that was a late one,” Piastri told MSTV Live.

“I’m not going to take any credit for it because the carnage helped a bit, but then Esteban did a very good job after that. I’ll give myself a little bit of credit if that is allowed.

“I’ve been in the sim this week also, so it has been a busy week.

“It is awesome [to be a part of it], like I said I don’t really want to take any credit for that because if there was 100 good things that make a win, I was maybe 0.1 of those things.

Esteban Ocon, Alpine A521, 1st position, takes victory

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images

“But again it was really cool to be here and be with the test team and see their hard work paying off, and it is nice to know I played a very very minor role in the victory.

“I was actually already in Monza as I did the F1 test on Monday. I watched it on the big screen at Monza with the guys from the test team, so it was pretty special to share that with them.

“We didn’t have any audio, and if there was it was in French or Italian, but we could work out what was going on by looking at he leaderboard.”

Piastri is not the only F2 driver to have driven a F1 car this week as ART Grand Prix’s Theo Pourchaire experienced his maiden test in F1 machinery, piloting a 2019 specification Alfa Romeo at the Hungaroring on Wednesday.

The 17-year-old shared the day in the Alfa Romeo C38 with former F2 driver Mahaveer Raghunathan.

“Yesterday a dream came true, I drove for the first time of my life a Formula 1 car,” Pourchaire posted on Twitter.

“I remember dreaming of that day as a kid. I would like to thank the whole Alfa Romeo team for this amazing experience and unforgettable day.”