Oscar Piastri and lessons learned from McLaren: “Everyone thought Red Bull would dominate”. Australian Oscar Piastri reflected on the greatest satisfactions of last season.

Return to the top
The 2024 Formula 1 season ended with McLaren winning the Constructors’ Championship, a milestone the Woking-based team had been awaiting for nearly thirty years. This achievement also ended Red Bull’s streak of consecutive victories, which had been unbroken since 2021. The success thrilled the entire British team, which can now move forward into the next season with the confidence gained from the experiences of the recently concluded championship.

Never give up
Oscar Piastri is well aware of this. He shared with the media the satisfaction he felt with the team during a championship that did not initially begin under the best circumstances for him or McLaren: “We learned many lessons as a team,” the Australian commented. “We would have liked to have our version of the car, as it was in Miami, at the start of the year. That would have made life a bit easier, but I also think it’s important never to give up. It’s easy to say that now, but after the first race, everyone thought Red Bull would dominate, and that wasn’t the case. We just need to keep working hard, and it’s paying off massively.”

The season, as highlighted by the #81 driver, indeed began with unsatisfactory results, at least until the new upgrade package was introduced in the United States. From that point on, alongside a climb up the standings against Red Bull, Oscar Piastri secured his first career Grand Prix victory at the Hungaroring. Additionally, he and his teammate Lando Norris adhered to the “papaya rules.” This internal rule allowed both McLaren drivers to compete for victories while doing so cleanly and responsibly, mindful of being teammates.

An imperfect year
This rule was occasionally the subject of debate during the championship but ultimately led to few disappointments for the 23-year-old with Italian roots: “As far as I’m concerned, I’m largely satisfied with the season,” he continued. “There were some key areas I wanted to improve compared to last year, and I feel I’ve made significant progress in those. But there are also things I was less satisfied with this year. During qualifying, I definitely made life harder for myself than I would have liked.” – the Australian driver concluded.