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Oscar Piastri is not heading into this weekend’s Bahrain Grand Prix with a specific target in mind as he makes his F1 debut.
Instead, the McLaren driver is looking to use the opportunity as another learning experience as he steps up to the pinnacle of motorsport.
Piastri enjoyed a stellar junior career, winning three titles in as many seasons, giving him a palmares better than even Lewis Hamilton’s.
The Australian is not putting pressure on himself to perform and is instead looking to ease his way back into competition after a year on the sidelines.
Pressure off on F1 debut
“I think without putting results into it because we still don’t know where exactly we sit, I think just coming out of qualifying and the race, especially qualifying, knowing that I’ve done close to the best that I can, factoring in maybe a few mistakes here and there,” Piastri said when asked what would satisfy him this weekend.
“Then the race, obviously it’s a very different kind of racing to what I’ve had in the past, and especially for the last year because I haven’t had any.
“So I think going through the race, results aren’t necessarily the most important thing.
“I’d rather a race where the result’s a bit worse but I learned double as much that I can carry into the rest of the season,” he added.
“So just try and learn as much as possible.
“I think the first race of my career is not where I’m going to be fighting for wins and podiums.
“I think learning as much as I can is by far the most important thing at the moment.”
Slow start for McLaren
McLaren is expected to have a tough start to the 2023 F1 season after a difficult pre-season test.
The team has openly admitted it is not where it had hoped to be but has an aggressive development programme in place.
The upside is it offers the Melburnian more licence to learn in a car that is not expected to be capable of especially strong results.
Had the McLaren MCL60 proved a rocket ship out of the gates, the pressure on the 21-year-old would have been much higher.
Instead, he now has the opportunity to get to grips with the rigours of F1 without the added expectation of delivering immediate results.
While “itching” to get going, Piastri’s attitude and ambition are not only a logical way to approach his maiden event but a pragmatic one.
