Oscar Piastri's remarkable performances in the early summer races of the Formula 1 season were all the more impressive given the adversity faced by the McLaren charger behind the scenes.
The young Australian driver revealed that he competed with a broken rib during several races leading up to the summer break due to an issue with the seat in his MCL38 car.
Piastri explained that the problem originated from a slight misjudgment during his pre-season seat fitting, which led to discomfort that eventually resulted in a fracture.
“You make the seat at the start of the year and sometimes you get it a little bit wrong and some tracks don’t expose it,” he told the media in Zandvoort on Thursday.
Unfortunately, as the season progressed, the combination of tough circuits exacerbated the situation.
“Going from Barcelona, Austria, Silverstone, they’re three pretty hardcore tracks,” he added.
“Just a bit of a pressure point, which eventually my rib gave up. It’s all good again now. We’ve changed the seat and fixed it immediately.”
Despite the pain and discomfort, Piastri continued to perform at his highest level. The 23-year-old took his maiden F1 win in Hungary in a stunning McLaren 1-2 finish and followed it up with a second-place finish in Belgium.
©McLaren
The revelation of his injury added a layer of awe to these accomplishments, showcasing his resilience and determination.
The issue with his rib was diagnosed shortly after the British Grand Prix.
“The scan was the day after Silverstone, but it was definitely broken before Silverstone,” Piastri revealed.
Reflecting on when the injury first started affecting him, he said: “It was at some point around Austria.
“I think I was probably a bit disturbed in Barcelona and then Austria. Afterwards, it was pretty painful, and Silverstone was a pretty nasty few days.”
©McLaren
The team quickly made changes to his seat to alleviate the pressure point, which brought some relief. Piastri noted that even before the summer break, the situation had started to improve.
“I think we identified what we could change on the seat, and even with it being broken, the pain subsided a lot once we changed a few things,” he explained.
“It was getting better, even with driving around. It was not getting any worse; it was actually getting better, so I think we already changed what went wrong.”
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