“We do our talking on the track,” quips Formula One driver Oscar Piastri to his teammate Lando Norris. It’s toward the end of his rookie season in motorsport’s most prestigious globe-trotting racing series. The comment, tucked away in the sixth season finale of Netflix’s wildly popular sports docuseries Formula One: Drive to Survive, provides a neat summary of Piastri’s personality and outlook on life: coolly, briefly observing situations with a wry, dry wit and steering clear of bullshit. At the same time, he maintains a constant awareness of the expectations placed on Formula One drivers, whose professional and personal dramas are the object of intense fan interest, speculation, and interpretation.
Drivers on other teams he refrains from mentioning publicly may engage in disputes, but Piastri does not follow suit. His focus on what truly matters, while disregarding the rest, has proven to be beneficial for the young talent. Having relocated from his family residence in Australia to a boarding school in England to be closer to the Formula One scene, Piastri made a significant career move at the age of 14. In a recent conversation with The Daily Beast’s Obsessed ahead of the premiere of Drive to Survive’s sixth season, Piastri acknowledged the importance of this decision. He approached the topic philosophically, recognizing that non-European drivers like himself often have more sacrifices to make. This experience led him to contemplate the level of motivation required before committing to a career in racing, prompting him to mature at a rapid pace.
Piastri, the most youthful driver in the Formula One grid, is the first to have been born in the 21st century. Like his 19 counterparts in the 10 teams of the sport, he is determined to challenge himself and his team’s incredibly expensive high-performance race car to their maximum speed and endurance. Piastri’s composed demeanor on the race track has played a crucial role in the success of his remarkable debut season as a Formula One driver. His ability to navigate the unpredictable nature of being an athlete in a top-tier, fiercely competitive sport will be key in determining what the 2024 racing season has in store for him.
Drive to Survive, a captivating reality series, skillfully captures and molds both on-track and off-track moments into compelling storylines. Each season of the show delves into the thrilling highs and comically petty lows experienced by the 10 teams and 20 drivers in the Formula One series as they vie for victory in the championships. Formula One, or F1, features two championships annually – one for drivers and another for the teams responsible for car design, construction, and enhancements. The 2023 racing season presented a unique challenge for the show due to the dominance of three-time world champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull team. Verstappen’s remarkable performance saw him clinch victory in 19 out of 22 races, with his teammate Sergio Pérez securing two wins, leaving only one race for a non-Red Bull driver, Carlos Sainz of Ferrari, to claim.
In order for Drive to Survive to achieve its objective of crafting compelling storylines and making a complex sport more captivating to a wider audience, it requires engaging content: material that rivals the drama of shows like Real Housewives of Elite Racing Worldwide. How can the series build suspense and draw in viewers—particularly the sought-after demographic of young women in the United States—when the outcome of both championships seems predetermined from the start?
This is where the involvement of Piastri and Norris’s McLaren team becomes crucial. While the drivers and their distinctive papaya-colored car faced challenges early on, they were never in a position to challenge the dominance of Red Bull. As a result, this season of Drive to Survive delved deeply into the smaller rivalries further down the standings, such as McLaren’s battle with Aston Martin for fourth place and Ferrari’s competition with Mercedes for second. While these may appear insignificant, the stakes are high; the end-of-season rankings determine millions of dollars in prize money, with each tier separated by approximately $9 million, starting with a $60 million purse for the lowest-ranked team.
By delving deeper into the lesser-known F1 stories, Drive to Survive effectively retains its position as a gateway for potential fans of this exclusive sport. This is largely due to the ease with which one can familiarize themselves with the names, faces, and personalities of only 20 drivers and their 10 teams. Watching a single season will swiftly bring you up to date, with the pun fully intended.
This Rookie Is Not Like The Others
Piastri commenced the 2023 season with great anticipation due to his exceptional past performances, clinching championship titles during his rookie years in lower racing categories such as Formula Two and Formula Three. He rightfully takes pride in fulfilling those expectations, achieving podium finishes in the Japan and Qatar Grands Prix and accumulating sufficient points in other races to secure an impressive ninth place overall among the 20-driver lineup. These achievements shine even brighter when viewed in a broader context; his two rookie counterparts, Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant, were replaced mid-season and only managed to scrape together a single point each. Piastri remains composed, yet his excitement is palpable when discussing his first points scored at his home race in Melbourne and the team’s home race in England, labeling the latter as “an incredible weekend for the entire team.” McLaren achieved a coveted double podium at the British Grand Prix, with Lando Norris claiming second place ahead of Piastri’s third-place finish. Truly remarkable.
Drivers and teams understand the importance of their last race performance, which sets the tone for the upcoming season. Preparations for the 2024 racing season, starting in Bahrain at the end of February, were already in progress during the final Grand Prix of 2023 in Abu Dhabi. Piastri, having demonstrated his competitive edge, is fully focused on enhancing his performance and achieving greater consistency. Despite being the sole occupant of the car, Piastri emphasizes the collaborative effort involved, including extensive discussions with race and performance engineers to pinpoint areas for improvement backed by data. These relationships are vital, as the engineers possess more knowledge and experience, which Piastri acknowledges by crediting his strong science background for enabling clear communication regarding the car’s behavior and his preferences. While Piastri’s dedication to hitting the ground running at each race weekend is commendable, the unveiling of McLaren’s redesigned car for 2024 is eagerly anticipated, with hopes for a swift and positive impact.
Keeping Cool Under Pressure
Despite Piastri’s hopes for a speedy 2024 car, he acknowledges that the likelihood of losing is much higher than the likelihood of winning for every driver. However, he remains optimistic about this reality, taking inspiration from F1 legend Niki Lauda. Lauda believed that losing was more valuable than winning, as it provided valuable lessons for future races. Piastri understands that failure is inevitable in motorsport, partly due to the numerous external factors beyond one’s control, such as race circuits, weather conditions, and unforeseen mechanical problems. He sees each loss as an opportunity to discover the depths of his own capabilities and to enhance performance. Through these experiences, Piastri gains a deeper understanding of himself, as his emotions and motivation are put to the ultimate test.
Piastri’s capacity to maintain emotional composure serves as a valuable asset on the racetrack. His remarkably calm demeanor stands out in a sport where drivers often express their emotions loudly and vividly over team radios during races. “I understand that some drivers require a bit of agitation to perform at their peak, but I find that staying extremely calm is what allows me to excel,” he explained. Piastri chose not to disclose the specific methods he employs, simply mentioning that he collaborates with his team to work on them.
Piastri’s ability to maintain composure and his dry wit are evident in his approach to the challenges of his profession. This quality has proven useful during the unpredictable changes that occur during F1’s Silly Season, a period known for team personnel shake-ups that often take place in the summer. Silly Season 2024 began before the racing season even started, when Sir Lewis Hamilton announced that he would be leaving Mercedes after an 11-year partnership to join Ferrari in 2025. This unexpected news came as a shock to both the F1 community and its millions of fans worldwide. Piastri’s response on X (formerly known as Twitter) the following morning was a memorable one: “Just been for a run. Did I miss anything?” Piastri himself is no stranger to the Silly Season, as he was involved in a contractual dispute between Alpine, where he served as a reserve driver, and McLaren, where he aspired to drive, in 2022. However, he is confident that Hamilton “won’t need any of my advice.”
Even with Hamilton having one more full season at Mercedes, the anticipated seventh season of Drive to Survive is bound to have a significant storyline due to the shakeup. If the potential repercussions across other teams become too absurd, however, new opportunities may arise. The Drive to Survive team has already filmed some footage away from the track, which could be interesting to watch. It remains to be seen how they will utilize it. Piastri humorously suggests that there is plenty of material for a spinoff series.
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