Piastri after debut at McLaren: 'My neck is pretty sore'

That Oscar Piastri will make his debut in Formula 1 in 2023 we actually already knew in the first half of the season. The only question was which team it would be with. First the Australian seemed to make the switch to Williams, then it briefly seemed to be Alpine, but now he has settled down at McLaren. He recently completed his first kilometres for that team.

There was some question whether Alpine would release its former junior for the post-season tests in Abu Dhabi already. In the end, the French formation relented and Piastri could unofficially make his debut for his new employer. Last week, Piastri drove the MCL35M at the Barcelona circuit. There, he drove 150 laps. Speaking to official channels, Piastri talks about his first experiences.

""It was good to get back into the swing of things with some race-specific stuff. We covered a lot of things, and I feel like I am making some good progress. We revisited some old topics that I haven't had the chance to explore for a while, and I learned quite a lot about different driving techniques," said Piastri, speaking of "cold conditions". "And we even got a bit of wet running in as well, so I was adapting to all of that and trying to soak up as much as I could and get back into the swing of things because there is a bit of rust."

Piastri's neck heavily strained

In 2022, Piastri was Alpine's third driver, but he did not get much action, including in other racing classes. Physically, then, he still has some steps to take. "My neck is pretty sore, but it always takes a while to get used to an F1 car. I am getting there, I am holding on, and I should be good to go with some more training over Christmas," he concludes.