“Silverstone was pretty painful”: Oscar Piastri discusses racing with a broken rib ahead of Dutch F1 Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri shared his 'painful' experience of racing with a broken rib at four races before the F1 summer break.

After the start of the 2024 summer break, the McLaren driver posted a picture on social media, revealing a broken rib. This made it clear that he took part in a few races and also won his first one with the medical condition.

As the break came to an end, Piastri was asked about the broken rib in the Netherlands. He revealed that it had been quite "painful," and had raced with it since the Austrian Grand Prix.

"It's all fully back to normal now, so that's good," Oscar Piastri said. "But it was at some point in the triple header in Austria, roughly, just from driving.

"So yeah, Silverstone was pretty painful, but it's all good again now. So yeah, a little challenge halfway through the season."

There were three more races after the Austrian Grand Prix before the start of the break, so it's apparent that Piastri raced with a broken rib for at least four races.

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Oscar Piastri suspects F1 seat for his rib injury

The seats for all F1 drivers are custom-made to fit perfectly according to their bodies. Like any other part of an F1 car, they are made with great precision, but as Piastri revealed, that might not always be the case.

When asked about the injury he suffered, the 23-year-old pointed out the seat in his McLaren cockpit. He said that not all tracks expose issues, if any, with the seat, but some do.

"You make the seat, obviously, at the start of the year and sometimes you get it a little bit wrong," Motorsport quoted him. "Some tracks don't expose it, but I think going from Barcelona, Austria, Silverstone, three pretty hardcore tracks [did expose it]."

Oscar Piastri added that the issue has now been fixed and that the seat has been changed for future races.

"So it was just a bit of a pressure point which eventually gave up. But it's all good again now and we've changed a seat and fixed it immediately pretty much. So yeah, all back to normal."

Piastri has been racing competitively this season. Paired with McLaren's MCL38's positive R&D, he has been battling at the top with his teammate Lando Norris. Both drivers have won a race each, and while the car has been fastest on multiple occasions, they trail Red Bull by 42 points in the championship.