Almost too nice. Winners should be grinners. PETER COSTER reports on the Japanese Grand Prix:
Cool, calm and collected, but almost too much so. Oscar Piastri said he was “very happy” stepping on to the podium in third place at the Japanese Grand Prix.
But he wasn’t ecstatic, as he might have been, or if he was he wasn’t showing it.
He is only 22 years old and already the consummate professional in his first year in Formula One.
Embed from Getty ImagesHe has reached the young driver’s dream in not only securing a seat with a team emerging as a major player in F1 and he has been given a two-year contract extension.
Yes, the F1 dream can easily become nightmare but the Melbourne driver is something special, winning all the junior championships, including the F2 and F3 titles.
He refused to be bullied into staying with Alpine in preference for a seat with McLaren, which unloaded eight-times race winner Daniel Ricciardo to sign the then 21-year-old.
That was the right choice, even if it might not have looked so at the time. Ricciardo couldn’t come to grips with the car but Piastri and his mentor in Australian GP winner Mark Webber saw something.
So, lighten up Oscar. You are allowed to show you not only have what it takes to be among the 20 elite drivers on the F1 grid and potentially among the top five.
You are the buzz in the paddock alongside the revitalised McLaren and the fans want to hear about it.
Starting alongside soon-to-be triple world champion Max Verstappen in the Red Bull on the front row of the grid at Suzuka on Sunday was not a one-off.
Yes, maybe Piastri is waiting until he ascends the top step on the podium as a Grand Prix winner because he doesn’t want to get too far ahead of himself.
Even so it’s time he cracked it for a grin. The pundits are already hailing him as a future world champion and while over expectations can destroy a career, a long career in Formula One is surely within Piastri’s grasp.
He looked almost embarrassed when spraying the champagne around at Suzuka on Sunday. So, let’s see a few first pumps.
He has left the hyperbole to McLaren team boss Zac Brown who sees Piastri showing as much promise as the car that has jumped into contention at the front of the F1 grid.
Piastri’s first podium finish in little more than half a season follows his fourth place at Silverstone in the British Grand Prix.
He was then pipped for pole in the sprint race at Belgium by Max Verstappen by milliseconds.
In Japan, he was behind Lando Norris in the McLaren one-two behind Verstappen, who was mostly out of sight of the following field.
It was a return to spectacular form by Red Bull after an inexplicable fifth in the Singapore Grand Prix, which ended the Dutchman’s remarkable run of 10 GP victories.
More interesting to Piastri watchers was how the McLaren drivers performed. Norris, who was on the second row of the grid behind Piastri, got in front of the Australian as Verstappen squeezed him to the right of the track.
Norris took the opening on the left and slotted in ahead of Piastri, who then found himself ahead of Norris after a tyre change.
The roles were reversed after Norris complained that Piastri was not going fast enough and if he continued to block him it would be harder for Norris to fight for the lead in the later laps.
“The longer I spend behind now, the harder you’re going to make the race for me,” radioed Norris.
The pass was made on lap 27 under team orders and there was a similar role reversal between George Russell and Lewis Hamilton in the Mercedes.
“Are we fighting each other or the others?” asked Russell on the radio.
He was told to let his teammate pass as Hamilton tried to fight off Carlos Sainz in the Ferrari. Sainz finished sixth behind Hamilton, with Charles Leclerc fourth in the other Ferrari. Russell slipped back to seventh.
It was quite a day for Piastri, who upgraded his emotions from “very happy” to “super happy” after the race.
Was he excited?
Well, he admitted to being “a bit excited.”
But that was when he was nearly taken off the track by Max Verstappen at the start of the race.
So, let’s see some attitude. Pump up your tyres, Oscar. Humility has its place but not necessarily in an F1 car.
PETER COSTER is a former editor and foreign correspondent who has covered a range of international sports, including world championship fights and the Olympic Games.
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