Oscar Piastri wants to emulate Lewis Hamilton and Sir Jackie Stewart by leaving a "special legacy off the track"

Ahead of the fourth Grand Prix on the 2024 F1 calendar, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri has expressed his desire to follow in the footsteps of Lewis Hamilton and Sir Jackie Stewart.

The qualifying stint at the Suzuka International Racing course got done and dusted on Saturday, with Max Verstappen setting the pole with the fastest time across Q1, Q2, and Q3. Next in line is the other RB20 driver Sergio Perez, followed by Lando Norris, who will start his Japanese GP weekend from the season-best spot in P3.

Alex Albon's FW46 is back on track and will be fielded by Logan Sargeant from the P19 spot on the grid. The 5.807km circuit will witness 20 cars fighting for contention, where Verstappen will be eyeing another victory after succumbing to brake failure on Lap 4 at the Australian GP. Oscar Piastri was the sixth fastest in the time-testing stint and will start his 53-lap run behind Fernando Alonso.

Ahead of the Sunday race, where the lights are scheduled to go off at 14:00 Track Time, the Aussie opened up on the off-track deeds of Lewis Hamilton and Sir Jackie Stewart that have inspired him.

Hamilton needs no introduction in Formula One, and his off-track heroics are as well-known in the racing community. The British driver is renowned for raising concerning points in F1, among which is the Grand Prix Drivers' Association's lack of influence. Additionally, three-time world champion Jackie Stewart, in what he saw as the need of the hour, supported Hamilton's dissatisfaction.

During a conversation with SkySports reporter, Oscar Piastri expressed his inclination to something along those lines, saying (via X):

"I think it [off-track legacy in sports] will be a nice thing to have. When you look at Lewis, everything that he does off the track. You go back a few years and you see someone like Sir Jackie [Stewart] as well, the safety he brought to Formula 1 and motorsports as well."

He added:

"You look at those kind of people and it's pretty special to live a legacy off the track and it would be a nice thing to have for sure."

Lewis Hamilton believes to have driven the best car since the past "three years"

The Mercedes locked themselves in the bottom half of the Q3 grid that ran during the qualifying at Suzuka after Lewis Hamilton produced the seventh-best outcome and George Russell clinched the P9 spot.

The preceding race at the Albert Park Circuit, Melbourne was a massive blow to the German outfit, with both the W15s coming back into the garage and DNFs etched under their drivers' names.

Russell crashed his Mercedes in the final lap after Alonso's “unusual maneuver” sent the charging Brit into the wall, whereas Lewis Hamilton fell victim to a reliability issue on Lap 17. The engine failure robbed the winningest driver in F1 of what could've been a potentially promising outcome.

However, despite a lackluster qualifying run for the Japanese GP, Lewis Hamilton claims to have driven the nicest car "over the last three years." Uncovering the newfound comfort and confidence in the W15, the Briton expressed his thoughts (via ESPN):

"It's been a night-and-day different weekend so far, just in terms of how comfortable I feel in the car...the car's been much nicer to drive this weekend, especially at a track like this where you need a nice balance. This is the nicest it's felt over the last three years."