McLaren’s Oscar Piastri believes a podium in his home race in Melbourne this weekend is an unlikely prospect, but should a stroke of good fortune come his way, it “would be very, very special”.
A home race always holds a special significance for an F1 driver, regardless of his stature. It's an opportunity to compete in front of familiar crowds, friends, and family, fueled by their unwavering support.
The cheers from the stands carry an extra layer of energy, a palpable sense of hometown pride that can be incredibly motivating.
For Piastri, Melbourne is also a chance to revisit the scene of his first F1 points finish in 2023, a memory that is unlikely to be washed away anytime soon.
“Yeah, definitely a special race for me,” the Aussie explained. “I mean, for any driver, a home race is always good fun and a privilege.
“But like you said, for me, it’s about 10, 15 minutes away from where I grew up. So, yeah, well and truly a home race and excited to be back.”
Unfortunately, no Australian driver has ever scored a podium in his homeland, although Daniel Ricciardo finished runner-up to Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg in 2014 before he was stripped of that result due to a fuel flow infringement by Red Bull.
“I remember watching the race on TV,” recalled Piastri who was just 12 at the time. “When I saw he got disqualified… ‘ah, he finished second, it’s all right’.
“So I kind of went through on a much, much lower scale, the same kind of thing. I saw an Aussie on the podium and that’s all I remember from that day.”
And local fans at Albert Park this weekend will have a double treat of Aussie talent, although Piastri admits that reaching the podium is a remote prospect for both himself and Ricciardo.
“Yeah, pretty wild to be racing around the same track 10 years later with the same guy I was watching on TV. It’s pretty cool,” added the McLaren charger.
“Hopefully we can both have a good weekend and make the home crowd proud. I think we’re both going to need some good fortune to end up on the podium.
“But yeah, it would be very, very special.”
Piastri heads into his Melbourne weekend on the back of a fourth-place finish in Jeddah last time out, a race in which he outpaced the Ferrari of super-sub Oliver Bearman and both Mercedes.
Given F1’s early pecking order with McLaren seen as the third fastest team behind Red Bull and Ferrari, Piastri reckons that any result better than P5 would be a lucky break
“I think being realistic, yes, being in the fight for the third quickest team is probably where we’re at the moment,” said the 22-year-old.
“I think we were a step closer to being close to Ferrari, at least anyway in Saudi, but we’re still… We don’t quite have enough at the moment.
“So I think probably the fight is with Mercedes at the moment for us. Hopefully we can start challenging a bit more later in the year.
“But for now, yeah I think as much as I don’t want to put people’s hopes down at home, I think yeah any more than sort of P5 is going to require some good fortune, yes.”
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