Oscar Piastri takes inspiration from Max Verstappen to learn during the race

In Monaco, Oscar Piastri managed to enter the top 10, thus scoring a point, in his first Formula 1 race in the principality. The Australian started from eleventh place, one of his best results of the season so far. The former Alpine Academy driver revealed that he had been helped by Max Verstappen, when the latter overtook him to lap him.

“Having Max Verstappen in front of me was useful in many ways,” Oscar Piastri confided. “It was the first time I was on slick tires on a wet track, in a Formula 1 car. I knew that if there was someone who could teach me, it would be Max Verstappen,” continued the McLaren driver.

Max Verstappen as a professor

At that moment, Oscar Piastri was still in eleventh place in the Grand Prix. Being overtaken by Max Verstappen greatly helped him. The Australian learned the racing lines and braking distances thanks to the Dutchman just ahead of him. As a result, the McLaren driver was able to catch up with Yuki Tsunoda, who had braking issues towards the end of the race.

However, Oscar Piastri is not completely satisfied with his weekend in Monaco. For him, this edition in the principality represents the most challenging of the season so far. Yet, McLaren has had very challenging races in these first six Grand Prix. From a personal point of view, the Australian is disappointed.

On my side, after all the free practice sessions, I wasn’t very happy with my driving. Being constantly six tenths off the pace is really not a good feeling, said Oscar Piastri. During the free practice, the Australian did no better than a 17th position, always over one second and two tenths behind the leaders.

An Inverse Trend

But in qualifying, Lando Norris’ teammate managed to reverse the trend and reach eleventh place, just behind his teammate. No Q3 for Oscar Piastri, but a promising start to score new points. And he ultimately succeeded. « Bringing the car closer to the pace in qualifying, but also finishing in the points, is a very big step forward, Oscar Piastri revealed. »

Monaco delivered on its promises for Oscar Piastri. The Australian driver faced his first laps on the F1 circuit. Already challenging as usual, rain added to the difficulty halfway through the race. The race itself was probably the toughest of the season. But these are also the weekends where you learn the most, concluded the McLaren driver.

At the championship, Oscar Piastri is currently in thirteenth place by scoring another points finish. An encouraging result for the rest of the season.