Despite McLaren Boss’ Appreciation, Oscar Piastri Makes a Self-Critical Assessment on His Monaco Performance: “Wasn’t Very Pleased”

After controversially replacing Daniel Ricciardo, McLaren rookie Oscar Piastri is finally proving his worth. The former F2 and F3 champion arrived in F1 with a big reputation and heightened expectations of him. But going into the 2023 season, he was hardly remarkable. After the Monaco Grand Prix, however, it’s more convincing than ever that Piastri is on the path to becoming one of the F1’s best drivers. And his massive improvement drew a lot of praise, especially from his new team boss, Andrea Stella.  

Going into the race, Piastri was cruising 11th most of the race, but Yuki Tsunoda’s brake issues opened the doors for the McLaren driver. Pouncing upon the opportunity, Piastri raced his way into the points and finished in 10th place. Despite driving in one of McLaren’s worst cars in years, rookie Piastri delivered an exceptional performance in difficult mixed conditions, and it’s commendable. So, appreciating their driver, McLaren boss Stella said, “I think the first remarkable step forward during this weekend was yesterday in Qualifying.”

However, the Australian was critical of his own performances and said, as quoted by Speedcafe, “On a personal note after all the practice sessions, I wasn’t very pleased with my driving. Consistently six-tenths off was not a very nice feeling. So then to bring it a lot closer for qualifying and then to end up with a point [in the race], yeah, a very, very positive step forward.”

“The race itself was probably the most tricky of the year as well. But these are the weekend where you learn the most, you know, trying to make that jump from practice to quality and also in these conditions – I don’t think it gets too much harder than Monaco in the rain on slicks.”

Read More: After Gelling Up With Lando Norris, Oscar Piastri Makes a Satisfying Revelation About His New Best Friend at McLaren

So now, Piastri is looking to build on his performance in Monaco when Formula 1 touches down in Spain.

Oscar Piastri looking to build on the Monaco performance 

Although Piastri’s initial run in F1 didn’t live up to the hype, he’s shown massive improvement in the last two races. Especially in Monaco GP, despite treacherous weather, the rookie driver impressively avoided any major errors and finished his second race in points.

After a confidence-building weekend, the McLaren driver now heads to Spain from the streets of Monaco. Speaking about the weekend ahead, Piastri said, “Looking forward to it. A lot of the tracks we’ve been to so far have been either street circuits or new circuits for me. Spain is one that, for myself and everyone else, it’s a very familiar track.”

Watch this story: “How Oscar Piastri Has Made a Scintillating Rise to the Pinnacle of Motorsport”

The Melburnian now sits 13th on the F1 drivers’ standings with five points