Piastri with “lots to learn” after “smooth” first day

Australia’s newest Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri believes he already has “lots to learn” after his first day behind the wheel of the MCL60.

Piastri enjoyed his first laps of his rookie F1 season christening the eight time constructors world championship winning team’s new car with 52 laps in the opening morning of pre-season testing at Bahrain.

Once 19 of the 20 drivers completed laps throughout the eight and a half hour day, the 21-year-old from Melbourne finished 18th position with a best time of a 1:34.888.

Despite being only ahead of Haas’ Kevin Magnussen, little can be read into lap times at this early stage of testing.

Oscar Piastri driving the McLaren MCL60 around the Sakhir International Circuit.Photo by Steven Tee / LAT Images

More importantly, Piastri instantly appeared at home in the MCL60, staying out of trouble and impressing experts early with his driving style with the occasional lockup the only hiccup.

Overall the former Formula Renault, Formula 3 and Formula 2 champion reflected on his first official day as a Formula 1 driver in a positive fashion.

Piastri said he enjoyed a “smooth” start, but admitted there is still “lots to learn” after his first of three sessions behind the wheel at pre-season testing.

“My first morning of testing went pretty smoothly which is a good start to the season,” he said.

“We got through the programme we wanted to, which was great, with the focus being on getting myself back up to speed and used to the new generation of F1 cars.

“There is still a lot to learn and improvements to make but I think I’m getting there. It was good to get some laps on the board and everything felt pretty comfy.

“I’m looking forward to my next few sessions to keep improving and learning more about the car.” 

As Piastri focusing on gaining miles, his McLaren teammate Lando Norris focused more on extra pace and eventually recorded a solid P5 finish.

Norris’ 1:33.462 being 0.625s off leader Max Verstappen would have pleased the McLaren team after similar brake issues which plagued last year’s testing returned 12 months later.

Lando Norris steering the papaya McLaren under the setting sun at Sakhir. Photo by Zak Mauger / LAT Images

The Brit was only able to log 40 laps in his #4 car, the equal lowest amount by all drivers across the eight and a half hours of running.

However, Norris took a lot out of his first drive of the MCL60, feeling “comfortable” in the hot seat and picking up areas to work on.

“It was good to be back on track and get a good number of laps under my belt and to get that first feeling from the car, so I’m happy with that,” he said.

“It wasn’t quite the smoothest of days with a few little setbacks here and there, but we got through a lot of the plan and some of the key test items, which we can learn from over the next few days as well some changes we can already start to implement.

“I’m feeling more comfortable in the car and have changed little things here and there to start to optimise a few things.”

Despite some dramas, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella believed the first on-track day of 2023 was a “productive” one.

“A productive day in Bahrain which went largely to plan,” Stella explained. 

Australia’s Oscar Piastri exits the opening chicane at Bahrain. Photo by Mark Sutton / Sutton Images

“Despite a few very minor issues, which are common at testing, we’ve got a lot of information and were able to complete a lot of test items. 

“There were some short delays caused by the team wanting to reinforce the body work in some places in order to prevent a failure. 

“These were preventative measures, but we thought they were useful to make so we could run safely and reliably for the remainder of the day. 

“Overall, a positive day. We hope to continue like this for day two and three so we’re ready for the first race of the season.”

Formula 1 testing continues tonight with Norris completing driving duties in the morning session, which begins at 18.00 AEDT before Piastri drives in the evening from 23.00 AEDT.

For the first time Australians can watch Formula 1 pre-season testing on Fox Sports/Kayo. Live timing can be found on the F1 website.

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