Oscar Piastri reveals unusual core memory from first home race

Piastri in Australia — Photo: © LAT Images

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Piastri reveals unusual core memory from first home race

The Aussie had a remarkable debut season in F1 but his home race sticks out as a special moment

Tyler Rowlinson

Wednesday 20 December 2023 21:57

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Oscar Piastri has spoken about his ‘special’ first race weekend in Australia which saw him pick up his first points in F1 - and revealed a rather unusual core memory from the event.

Piastri had a remarkable debut season with McLaren which saw him win the Rookie of the Year award, claiming two podiums and a Sprint victory in Qatar and finishing ninth in the drivers’ championship.

The Aussie sat down with Laura Winter on the official F1 YouTube channel and he spoke about his maiden race on home soil and how the weekend will stick in his memory for years to come.

Article continues under video

Oscar Piastri was awarded 'Rookie of the Year' for his efforts in 2023

Piastri finishes ninth in the standings with two podiums and a Sprint victory in Qatar

Piastri: 'Australia was a special weekend'

When asked if he approaches a home race differently to other races, he said: “I try not to.

“I try to think of it as the same [as any other race]. But when you haven’t raced in Australia for seven or eight years, since I was in go-karts and you live ten minutes away from the track, it’s kind of hard to not think about that at times.

“It was a special weekend definitely. Even just being able to see my friends and family before the race is something I’ve not had the privilege to do in the last few years.

“For me, the biggest memory that I have is the drivers’ parade actually. Seeing so many Aussie flags, so many people in Papaya, that was the first epical moment of the year but one that is definitely up there and will stay with me forever.”

Up until Silverstone when the upgrades came to the car, McLaren were struggling immensely at the back of the grid and points finishes were scarce.

McLaren propelled up the grid following upgrades in Silverstone

After a retirement on his F1 debut in Bahrain and a 15th place finish in Saudi Arabia, Piastri came home to finish eighth in Melbourne, scoring his first points in F1.

“To get my first points was, in some ways a relief,” he added.

“It’s always nice to get off the mark and especially with the year that we were having. It was kind of a question of ‘if’ we were going to get points in the first half of the year, not ‘when’.

“So to have that result, finish eighth, it was very special but do it at home, I definitely couldn’t have picked a better place to do it.”

McLaren Oscar Piastri