Australian young gun Oscar Piastri says he doesn’t expect to fall into the same trap as Daniel Ricciardo as he prepares for his Formula 1 debut with McLaren.
Piastri has replaced Ricciardo in Woking’s line-up this season after his compatriot struggled for two years to adapt to a line of difficult-to-drive cars.
Ricciardo was trounced by younger teammate Lando Norris over two gruelling campaigns as he tried in vain to change his driving style to suit his machinery.
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The task was so taxing that the 232-race veteran is spending 2023 on a sabbatical as Red Bull Racing’s third driver.
The combination of Norris’s ascendancy and the peculiar car form a potentially diabolical combination for Piastri’s maiden season, which comes after a year on the sidelines as Alpine’s reserve driver in 2022.
But the 21-year-old Melburnian says he doesn’t expect to be caught out in the same way as Ricciardo was when he lines up on the grid for the first time in Bahrain.
“Firstly, it’s obviously a shame that things didn’t work out between the team and Daniel,” Piastri said at the launch of McLaren’s 2023 car, the MCL60. “But I think for me personally I’m not concerned about that aspect of things and the lack of experience.
“Through my junior career I’ve had to change car every single year. I’ve never driven the same car for more than a year.
“Adaptation is a big strength that you need in the junior categories, and I think that’s been prominent in my [career]. So I think for that aspect I’m not concerned.”
Piastri boasts one of the most decorated junior careers on the grid, having won back-to-back championships in Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula 3 and Formula 2 on his way to Formula 1.
Each category represents a major step up on the previous one, particularly in terms of power.
The Australian also won’t be coming into the challenge completely blind. McLaren fielded him in two private tests late last year and another earlier this month using the 2021 car, and he clocked up 123 laps in the 2022 machine at the end-of-season test in Abu Dhabi.
While the focus has been on embedding him inside the team rather than on pure performance, Piastri hinted that some adaptation would be required to get the most out of the McLaren if the 2023 car maintains the peculiarities of its predecessors.
“I’ve obviously done a bit of testing in the 2021 car and the post-season test last year with McLaren, so I know a little bit of what to expect,” he said.
“But I think as a driver you always need to adapt. There’s always going to be certain things that are maybe not going to suit you quite as well as you want. As a racing driver you always want more grip and more power.
“I think there’s always some limitations. It’s just how you can drive around those.”
The percentage of the car’s contribution to Ricciardo’s downfall compared to Norris’s red-hot form in the last two years as he established himself as an elite driver remains an open question that Piastri’s results relative to his new teammate could go some way to solving.
Critics of the young Briton contend that he’s only ever driven McLaren cars in Formula 1, distorting the advantage he had over Ricciardo.
His backers point to the fact the 23-year-old has had to change his own driving style to get the most out of the car in recent years.
While it’s too early to say how their driving styles compare, Piastri said both he and Norris have a similar way of working that should stand him in good stead to make the most of his McLaren chance.
“We obviously haven’t done much driving alongside each other really, only the post-season test, and even in that we had pretty different run plan,” he said.
“We also don’t know exactly how this new car is going to behave, so there might be some driving differences that both of us need to make from last year.
“I think we’ll be able to work well together. You don’t necessarily need to have the exact same driving style to make things work, but I think from the feedback I’ve had so far we work in a pretty similar way, so I’m comfortable we’ll be able to move the team forward.
“Ultimately the goal is to try and push the team forward and to try and be fighting for wins, for podiums and ultimately championships, because I think everyone on the grid wants to try and be winning. That’s why we’re here.”
Piastri will get his first taste of the MCL60 in anger during pre-season testing on 23–25 February.