(Motorsport-Total.com) – Oscar Piastri has temporarily swapped his McLaren car for the brute force of an Australian V8 Supercar. During a trip to his homeland, the 24-year-old met compatriot Cam Waters, who acted as a mentor with the experience of 18 race wins under his belt.
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“To be honest, I probably used to watch more V8 races than Formula 1 because the time difference was just much more pleasant. I was also often here with my father at the drag races,” Piastri reveals about his roots in Australian motorsport.
However, the track day turned out to be a steep learning curve for the Formula 1 driver. Right at the start, he frankly admitted that he had no knowledge of how the car worked nor did he know where the track led.
From “Politeness Mode” to Kerb-Hopping
After the initial runs in Waters’ Mustang, Piastri was encouraged to adopt a more aggressive driving style. After initially holding back “very politely,” the instruction was: “Feel free to hit the kerbs a bit harder!” The youngster didn’t need to be told twice, letting the Ford Mustang hop properly over the kerbs and bringing smiles to the faces of the observers.
“It’s huge fun. Nice to drive something new for a change. It’s the first time I’ve sat in a racing car with a roof,” was the Australian’s conclusion.
Upswing after a difficult start to the 2026 season
The excursion into touring cars is also intended to mentally refresh Piastri after he had a difficult start to the 2026 Formula 1 season. However, he was able to turn the tide with a strong second place at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka. Previously, the start had been disappointing: a crash on the warm-up lap at his home race in Australia and an electrical defect in China had left him without points.
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“There simply wasn’t more in it in the race today,” he summarized after the success in Japan. “We had a good start, the pace was right. I think I was strategically clever – especially in how I used and managed the boost.”
Piastri: “Can cause headaches”
Despite the podium, Piastri still sees areas for improvement at McLaren: “Our strategy was good, we didn’t flinch too early. The safety car was a shame, of course, but overall we couldn’t have gotten more out of this weekend. I am very satisfied with my performance and that of the entire team.”
Nevertheless, he remains realistic: “On the one hand, we still need to find pure performance; on the other hand, the weekend on Lando’s side of the garage was heavily affected by many problems. The start of the season was not easy for us in terms of reliability, there is still a long way to go.”
However, Piastri’s challenge to the competition stands: “We have shown: If we get everything together perfectly, we can cause real headaches for the others.”
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