McLaren driver Oscar Piastri is turning heads in his second Formula 1 season, having won twice and convinced many that a drivers’ title challenge is in his future
The Australian racer’s sophomore campaign in Formula 1 has been a tremendous success. He is fourth in the drivers’ championship with six rounds to go, having won two Grands Prix and stood on the podium a further five times.
One of those impressive results came at the Belgian Grand Prix, the final race before the summer break. He finished third on the road but that was later upgraded to second place after winner George Russell was disqualified when his Mercedes failed post-race checks.
Hamilton inherited the victory from his team-mate. But before any of that happened, McLaren racer Piastri said the seven-time F1 champion wasn’t in the best of moods anyway having felt he should have won on the road.
Asked by Cosmopolitan what his most awkward experience of a post-race cool down room was, that Spa-Francorchamps event sprang to mind for the 23-year-old who said: “I have not been in that many, but the most awkward one was after Spa, where George won and Lewis finished second.”
Recalling details of the moments after that race ended, Piastri added: “I finished third on the road, and then, of course, George got disqualified. It was tense. Lewis drove a great race. In a lot of circumstances, he should have won that race pretty comfortably.
“So I understood exactly how he was feeling at that point. I could very much sense that Lewis did not want to be… he was not in a chatty mood, so I just watched and looked at the highlights in silence and kept to myself.”
Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton in the cool down room after the Belgian Grand Prix(Sky Sports)
Piastri was also asked about his relationships with his fellow F1 drivers, including the foursome he would take with him on a night out if given the chance. His reply was: “I like the very occasional night out, but I’m more of a ‘relaxed dinner with good food’ kind of guy.
