Oscar Piastri feels ready for the decisive phase of the Formula 1 season. The young Australian says he can rely on his experience from previous championships and on the support and experience of mentor and manager Mark Webber.
This season is undoubtedly the strongest in Piastri’s still young Formula 1 career. Although he had a disastrous weekend in Azerbaijan — where he crashed both in qualifying and in the race — he leads the championship with a 25-point lead over his teammate and biggest rival: Lando Norris. Piastri knows that the pressure will only increase in the coming weeks. “The intensity will naturally increase as we get closer to the end of the year, and I’m ready for it,” the Australian told Motorsport Week.
Piastri shows that he does not succumb under pressure, despite it being only his third full season in Formula 1. That calmness does not come out of nowhere. “I’ve experienced this before in other championships,” he explains. “That feeling, that countdown to the end of the season, is always the same. So I’m ready for it.” The 24-year-old driver was previously champion in both Formula 3 and Formula 2 – both in his debut year.
Support from Webber
Former F1 driver Mark Webber plays a key role in Piastri’s development as a manager and mentor. The young Australian can lean on him, but knows that it ultimately comes down to his own performance. “It depends on how I drive, how I handle the pressure, and how I manage everything,” says Piastri. “Still, it’s important to have people around you that you can build on. Mark is certainly one of them.” Webber knows better than anyone what it means to perform under pressure in a title fight. Between 2010 and 2013, he fought for the championship at Red Bull. In the final phase of this season, Piastri benefits from that experience – whether that will be enough for his first world title remains to be seen.
