Fresher Oscar Piastri Becomes the “Hero” for McLaren as Zak Brown & Co. Avoid a “Complete Disaster”

Moving on from his disastrous debut in Bahrain, rookie Oscar Piastri is a happier man after the qualifying in Jeddah. The Australian made it to Q3 in just his second race in the premier class in a downbeat McLaren. MCL60 has largely been disappointing during every outing on the track. The pre-season testing, the weekend in Bahrain, and even the practice sessions in Jeddah were similar. However, the rookie Australian pulled a rabbit out of his hat and became a hero to the team.

Piastri is one of the most anticipated young talents on the grid thanks to his meteoric rise in the junior categories. With the weight of expectation, the Australian delivered in part during the qualifying. However, the small margins that can make or break a driver is not lost on Piastri according to his comments quoted by Speed Cafe.

“The difference between being in the top 10 and being out was two-tenths,” said Piastri. “You make a small mistake or a couple of small mistakes, and it looks like a complete disaster. You put a really good lap together and you look like a hero. So we’ve really got to tackle those really small margins, which I think we’re doing a very good job of.”

“So just those small margins again really made a difference,” he added after disclosing the team’s confidence following the final practice session.

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The minuscule difference made Piastri the hero in the McLaren garage. Some would assume the Australian dug deep after Bahrain to find this performance. However, according to Piastri himself, that wasn’t the case.

Oscar Piastri slowly easing into life in F1 and the McLaren MCL60

The case is of just familiarizing oneself with the sport. Piastri did not get a chance to get all the potential laps in during the pre-season testing and in Bahrain. However, despite the short debut, Piastri feels right at home now, heading into the Saudi Arabian GP.

“Every time I’ve jumped in the car, I feel like I’m getting more and more comfortable,” said a delighted Piastri. “I feel if you can get yourself comfortable with the car, then no matter what track you go to, it makes life easier.”

However, the Australian admits to going about his business as usual and things just falling into place. “And compared to Bahrain, I don’t think I did anything massively different or changed anything, it’s just that it all came together better and better and I made no mistakes,” he admitted. 

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The rookie Australian has had an uplifting outing in Jeddah so far. However, race is a completely different challenge and it will be interesting to see how well he can defend and maybe extend his P8 starting advantage.