“I feel like there's more to come” - Despite first-ever podium finish, Oscar Piastri spells out things he needs to improve going forward

Oscar Piastri felt he needs to improve his race pace and work on his tyre management skills after analysing his performance in the 2023 Japanese GP. Speaking in the post-race press conference, the Australian reflected on his performance in the race and felt there was a lot more improvement needed despite clinching his maiden podium finish.

Starting second on the grid, Oscar Piastri had a strong drive to finish third at the race in Suzuka. However, the Australian dropped a spot on the grid and did not have the same pace as his more experienced teammate Lando Norris. The McLaren duo secured the first double podium of the season for their team in Japan as Max Verstappen defeated them with a 19-second lead.

Asked to reflect upon his performance in the race, Oscar Piastri said:

“I just wasn't quick enough at certain points of the race, I think. You know, these high-deg races are probably the biggest thing I need to try and work on at the moment. I think it's still quite fresh for me, obviously. In all the junior racing before this, there are no races like this. So the only way you can learn from it is by just doing the races. So, definitely a few things, had I had this race again, that I would have done a bit different. But that's all part of the learning. So, yeah, exciting to know that we can finish on the podium, even if I feel like there's more to come.”

Explaining what he could have done differently to beat his teammate, the McLaren driver said:

“Well, looking back on it now I was in the perfect position to emulate Senna and Prost, like, literally perfect. It's true. But no, I saw I got a good launch, got a bit too excited on the throttle pedal in the second part of the start and at that point I knew I wasn't far enough alongside Max. I could see Lando was coming around the outside. So yeah, I think settling for third was definitely the safest… and just the safest option at that point.”

Suggesting that he could have managed his tyres better in the race, Oscar Piastri felt he still has areas to work on in terms of his own performance. The Australian feels that the races completed so far have led to a lot of learning but he felt he could have had a different result, if he had done a few things differently. Avoiding clashing with his teammate or Max Verstappen, the 22-year-old felt that he had to settle for third place despite a good launch to avoid an Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost-like moment at the Suzuka circuit. Both the former McLaren legends had an infamous incident where the two collided after the start of the 1990 Japanese GP, resulting in retirements for both.

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Oscar Piastri reflects on what he can improve in his performances in the future

Pinpointing the areas that needed improvement in the races, Oscar Piastri felt his tire management abilities could be better. Breaking down the issues he had during the race, the young Australian asserted that he wasn’t fast enough and lacked overall pace. Taking positives from the weekend, the 22-year-old believes his qualifying performance has improved.

Oscar Piastri said:

“Yeah, just I think the tyre management and just pace at certain points of the race was not as strong as I would have liked. The first stint it felt like everyone was driving extremely slowly and then when I tried to push a bit more, the tyres didn't really let me go much faster. So a few things to work on there and yeah, just pace overall in the races. And like I said, in these kinds of races there's no easy way to learn apart from just going through the races and having an experience where it's good or bad. So yeah, I think pace, I think the one lap pace especially in last few weekends has been a good improvement from the start of the year but definitely, in these kinds of races, the race pace is still an area to improve.”

Despite a maiden podium finish, Oscar Piastri seemed disappointed being unable to beat his teammate Lando Norris. The Australian has scored 57 points for his team so far and is in ninth place in the driver’s championship, but is still 58 points behind Norris and George Russell. In the constructor’s championship, McLaren are currently fifth, trailing Aston Martin by 49 points.