Oscar Piastri has revealed that McLaren fans chanting his name at Silverstone in 2023 was one of his most memorable moments in Formula One, admitting he was not expecting the reception.
The Australian made his first visit to the Northamptonshire circuit as a McLaren driver in July 2023, following a slow start to his debut campaign. That afternoon proved to be a turning point for the team, with Piastri describing it as the first weekend when McLaren were genuinely competitive that season.
A Defining Afternoon at Silverstone
In qualifying, Lando Norris put his McLaren on the front row in second place, one spot ahead of Piastri. On race day, Norris retained second, holding off Lewis Hamilton to finish as the best of the home favourites, while Piastri came home in fourth, then his best result in Formula One.
After the race, both drivers headed to greet the fans. With his teammate the home favourite and a podium finisher, Piastri had accepted he would play second fiddle, only to hear the crowd chant his name.
He told Mirror Sport: "Obviously having Lando as a team-mate, who is a Brit, there's always the potential for it to be the Brits vs the Aussies but honestly one of my most memorable moments in F1 was when we raced there in 2023.
"It was the first weekend when we were genuinely competitive and I remember we went to the fan stage after. I was a bit unlucky to miss out on a podium, but the fans chanted my name, and I wasn't expecting that at all. Lando had just finished on the podium and was the Brit in the team so it was really cool to experience that."
From First Win to Championship Success
Piastri went on to register his first win later that season, claiming victory in the sprint race at Qatar. More success followed with two wins the following year, and by his third season in F1 the 25-year-old from Melbourne was winning races and challenging for the championship.
He has helped make McLaren back-to-back Constructors' champions, a feat they had not enjoyed since the 1990s. Piastri attributes his success to his calm demeanour, which has become a hallmark of his driving.
The Australian puts that down to his move across the globe as a youngster, leaving home to pursue his F1 dream in Europe. He has learnt that remaining level is how he gets the best out of himself, and he is determined to avoid embracing any superstar status.
Staying Grounded and Looking Ahead
"I just try to be myself really," he said. "The calmness definitely is part of the things I learned moving to the other side of the world, through that life experience, but I also recognised pretty early on that that's how I get the best out of myself. Trying to remove as much of the unhelpful emotion in decision making is a good thing for me, but I've also learnt through the years that having that emotion is a good thing.
"It is just a case of picking and choosing which moments you need it for. I just try to think of myself as a regular guy who enjoys driving race cars and has a pretty cool job. I do it, not for the fame or anything like that, which I think keeps my feet on the ground."
This weekend in Mexico, Piastri will look to secure a tenth win of his career, and his first this season, in a specially designed livery as McLaren partner with sponsor VELO. The 'Livery of Dreams' brings fan dreams onto the F1 grid, with real fan dreams turned into real-life experiences celebrated in an original design across the McLaren car and wider race-weekend environment in Mexico.
VELO's Fandom campaign analysed the extent to which fans will go to attend an F1 race, with 1,000 people quizzed in the UK. One in five said they would reschedule their holiday if an opportunity came up to attend a race, while just over a quarter said they would abandon plans to celebrate their anniversary, and almost 40 percent confessed they had dodged a friend's birthday to tune in to a race.
Piastri added: "I think we have a great connection with our fans, and the best fanbase out there. I've listened to Zak Brown deliver talks about many things, and one of the biggest things he wanted when he first joined was listening to the fans more and having them involved."
