Mark Webber famously celebrated on the podium after scoring the first points of his Formula 1 career, while George Russell was in tears after dragging an uncompetitive Williams into eighth place in Hungary in 2021.
Oscar Piastri? Not so much. The Australian finished eighth at Albert Park, bringing his McLaren home for the first top-10 finish of his career. He actually crossed the line in ninth, but was promoted one spot after Carlos Sainz was given a five second penalty for causing a collision.
His reaction on the team radio gives an insight into both the calmness of the 21-year-old, as well as the expectations he has for his career.
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“We were within five seconds of Sainz,” said race engineer Tom Stallard.
“So Oscar, that should be P8 once that penalty’s applied.
“Well done buddy. Points, home grand prix, not a bad weekend.”
Despite claiming his first world championship points, Piastri’s demeanour was that of someone who’d just been told he needed urgent dental surgery. Certainly, it’s clear he feels that eighth place is nothing more than the starting point.
“Cool, thanks everyone,” was the very underwhelming reply.
“First points, nice to do it at home. Thank you.
“It wasn’t the best of races from my side, but we were there when it mattered.
“Thank you very much. We’ll get there. Thanks to (the) Melbourne crowd. What a weekend. Cheers.”
Piastri has impressed in his three races to date, with mechanical problems and bad luck costing him dearly in the opening two grands prix.
His solid performance in Melbourne included a frustrating time stuck behind the AlphaTauri of Yuki Tsunoda, with the McLaren’s lack of straight line speed hindering the Australian.
But Piastri wasn’t flustered, and eventually found a way past on the outside as the pair approached the high-speed turn nine.
“The AlphaTauri probably wasn’t that much quicker in a straight line, but I think even with the fourth DRS zone it’s still just difficult to overtake here,” Piastri said.
“For me, still some learning to do with how to use the battery most effectively to overtake, but I got a lot of practice with it. [It’s] still good learning.”
Also of note was the Friday afternoon practice session, part of which was held in damp conditions. It’s the first time Piastri has driven the McLaren in the wet, and he was consistently the quickest car on the circuit at that time.
Granted, the big guns stayed in the garage, but a wet track is a great leveller and an opportunity for drivers in less competitive cars to show their talent.
Initial impressions have been positive, with McLaren boss Andrea Stella admitting in Melbourne that Piastri is proving more of a match for Lando Norris than the man he replaced, fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo.
“Certainly what we see is that Oscar is close to Lando in most of the corners … which gives references to Lando himself,” Stella said.
“I think when your teammate is so competitive, then it becomes a reference for you and you take advantage, like Lando is doing.
“I would say this year the closeness between the two drivers is certainly much better than what we saw last year.”
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