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Interview with Oscar Piastri ahead of the FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2023

Life has changed a bit for Oscar Piastri in the last 12 months. Well known in F1 circles for his success in F2 and F3, Oscar was thrown into the spotlight last year with his signing to McLaren.

We recently caught up with Oscar for a lap around the iconic Albert Park track to discuss where his passion for motorsport came from, his upbringing in the automotive industry, and the intense preparation required to compete in Formula 1. From virtual simulators to the thrills of racing in his hometown of Melbourne, Oscar reveals the risks and rewards of high-speed racing and pushing the limits on the track.

It’s not often you get to drive around Albert Park with an F1 Driver. So we were sure to set up the McLaren with a few Quad Lock Car Mounts to record the conversation.

Born and raised in Melbourne, Oscar speaks of his excitement at racing in his hometown.

Watch the interview below for a deeper insight into Oscar’s journey into Formula 1 and his preparation for the FORMULA 1 ROLEX AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX 2023. Enjoy!

TRANSCRIPT:
Quad Lock:

Oscar, great to have you back in Melbourne.

Oscar Piastri:

Yes, nice to be back.

Quad Lock:

How does it feel to be knowing you’ll be racing down this track?

Oscar Piastri:

Yeah, it’s a really special feeling. I’m a Melbourne boy and grew up about 15 minutes away from Albert Park so you can’t really get much more of a home race than that

Quad Lock:

Where does your passion for motorsport come from?

Oscar Piastri:

It’s in my family, especially on my dad’s side of the family. We sort of watched Motorsport and my Dad’s business is in the automotive industry. So, I think it sort of just runs down the family, but also I like my sports in general especially when I was a little kid, I played all sorts of sports. I actually raced remote control cars first and then went to go-carts from there. I really like going fast but I also really like just trying to win and improve and, the competitiveness so that’s really where my love of motorsport came through.

Quad Lock:

How do you prepare for this track which you probably know very well being a Melbourne boy, but also any track, like what sort of process do you go through?

Oscar Piastri:

Pretty much all of the tracks we would do either a day or a couple of days in the simulator back in the factor. So that’s sort of the main preparation because we can’t do any testing so Albert Park is our home race but I’ve never driven a race car around here before so I’ll be in the simulator for a day or two trying to learn as much as I can in the virtual world and then yeah we’ve got three practice sessions to trying and really pick it up in real life. I was able to learn a bit last year being a reserve driver but there’s, unfortunately, no substitute for doing laps so you’ve got to be on your toes and ready to go soon as you jump in the car.

Quad Lock:

Well in terms of this track, do you have a favourite section?

Oscar Piastri:

I’m really looking forward to the chicane in the back straight, the really quick one. Yeah, it just looks fast, I mean a lot of the fast corners are the ones that the racing drivers would like and that’s where the F1 cars excel. So that high-speed chicane is the section I’m really looking forward to but I think the whole track you know, I’m excited to get out there and see what it’s all about.

Quad Lock:

How do you weigh up the risk verse reward in a situation?

Oscar Piastri:

I think you know, when you’re a racing driver and sort of got the helmet on - you’re ready to go, you’re not thinking about crashing or fear or anything like that. I think it usually kicks in once something goes wrong on track and you’re heading towards a wall or something like that. But you know, it is something you have to manage and that’s sort of the art of going racing is pushing the limit without overstepping it and no doubt we all overstep it every once in a while so it’s trick but certainly, I think that’s what makes a good racing driver - you know, being able to exploit the limits without that going over.

Quad Lock:

We’re going a nice steady 40ks here, how badly do you just want to just floor it

Oscar Piastri:

Yeah, it would be nice, it would be nice. But yeah I’m a very safe citizen on the road I would say. I’ll have my chance to get out in my F1 car and really give it some beat.

Quad Lock:

Oscar, it’s been an absolute pleasure. Really looking forward to seeing you race, it’s great to have a Melbournian representing.

Oscar Piastri:

Yeah, I’m really looking forward to it so yeah, nice to have you guys on board.

End.

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