First look: Piastri makes his McLaren debut
Wednesday, 23 November 2022
The Australian looks good in Papaya.
The long-awaited debut for Oscar Piastri at McLaren finally happened after the Melbourne-born driver took to the Yas Marina Circuit for his first official duty as a FORMULA 1® driver.
Drivers throughout the F1® paddock were all spotted donning their new team kits in Abu Dhabi as part of an official Pirelli tyre test.
It was Piastri, though, that drew the media’s attention. As someone who has had an equally successful junior career as Charles Leclerc and George Russell, the anticipation was high.
Although teams and drivers are all completing different tasks, Piastri finished the day with 123 laps and a best lap time of 1:26.340s.
“A good first day with McLaren, I think we learnt a lot,” Piastri said.
“It was great to finally join up with the team, and thanks to them for a good day of running. We did a lot of laps and experimented a lot, which is exactly what today is all about.”
“I’ve got a good idea where to improve for next year. I really enjoyed it, it’s nice to finally be back out on track finally and experience the 2022 cars.”
“I’m looking forward to next year now, I’ll be in the factory next week to meet the whole team, after that I’ll take a short break before getting back to work with McLaren to prepare for next year.”
Piastri was able to do a private test with the team a few weeks ago; however, he highlighted the importance of being able to get to know and work directly with the team during this particular test.
Oscar will take to the Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit for the first time on Friday, 31 March 2023, with Grandstand tickets going on sale to the general public next Tuesday, 29 November, at 10:00 am. Don’t miss this opportunity to see the next generation of Australian F1® drivers.
"Hopefully it’s the start of a lot of good days!" 😁@OscarPiastri's message for all of you after his first day in the car. 🧡 pic.twitter.com/BTgCNtIf3z
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 22, 2022
