Why Piastri being "almost constantly a little unhappy" pre-F1 debut pleases McLaren

By:

Alex Kalinauckas

Feb 14, 2023, 9:28 AM

OPINION: Having gone through a public tug-of-war over his 2023 services between Alpine and McLaren, Oscar Piastri’s upcoming Formula 1 debut is eagerly anticipated. But, judging by the initial impression revealed by his new orange team, he’s far from overawed

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Two teams have already gone to court over securing his services. He’s left the squad that brought him through the junior ranks and drawn critical comment from some of biggest characters in the paddock regarding his character. All even while he’s yet to drive a Formula 1 car in competition. No pressure then, Oscar Piastri...

Unsurprisingly for a driver that left home at 14 to follow their dream half a world away, he doesn’t view it that way. When Autosport asks what he makes of the impression created by the Alpine-McLaren tug-of-war over getting him into a 2023 F1 race seat last summer, which he refers to as “the drama”, Piastri is unequivocal: “I don't think it adds any pressure”.

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Alex Kalinauckas

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Alex Kalinauckas is Autosport's Grand Prix Editor, covering every Formula 1 race since the start of 2020. After completing a master's degree in journalism at Goldsmiths College University of London in 2014, he worked for a range of motorsport and technology publications while covering national racing as an Autosport freelancer.

A lifelong motorsport fan - no one in his family can explain quite how or why such a development first occurred - Alex joined the Autosport staff in April 2017 as the magazine’s Assistant Editor covering Formula 2 and GP3, before being made Formula E correspondent and Autosport.com’s Plus Editor in March 2018. He lives in north-east London and is constantly frustrated by the Central Line.