Will Oscar Piastri become the first Australian to reach the podium at home?

The statistic is astonishing given the half-dozen very good drivers from Australia. Never has an Aussie stood on the podium of his national Grand Prix in 37 editions. Purists will obviously remember that of Daniel Ricciardo in 2014, but the former pilot Red Bull had lost ownership after being disqualified due to an anomaly noted on his Red Bull, or even Mark Webber's "honorary" podium in 2002, after finishing 5th and scoring his first points in a modest Minardi.

Apart from these events that the history books will not recount, neither Daniel Ricciardo, nor Mark Webber, nor Alan Jones, nor Jack Brabham, nor any other has ever stood on the podium for real, except this either in Melbourne or Adelaide (from 1985 to 1995). Oscar piastri will he become the pioneer in this area this year, a week after finishing 4th in Saudi Arabia?

A year after winning his first points in F1 in his hometown, Oscar Piastri is back at Albert Park, to continue his fantastic and irremediable rise to power. His first season in F1 last year was crowned with success. From his first points in Melbourne acquired by emerging from chaos, to his first podium in Japan via his pole and sprint victory in Qatar, the boy from Victoria has lived a year rich in discovery and progress, so much so that Lando Norris assured that he had never had a teammate who pushed him so much to his limits.

Oscar Piastri, first Aussie on the podium at home?

This 2024 season is supposed to be that of confirmation for Oscar, but also that of crossing a new level, that of regularity, in order to truly maintain the comparison over time with its excellent British garage neighbor. The first two rounds worked out wonderfully in this regard, since Piastri arrived in Melbourne with four points more on the clock than the Bristol native.

The pressure will be high this weekend, since the local hero of Brighton Beach will play in front of a crowd who will come to encourage him and the returning Daniel Ricciardo. “Yes, it’s really a special race for me, explained Piastri. For any driver, a home race is always a pleasure and a privilege. But like you said, for me it's 10 or 15 minutes from where I grew up. So, yeah, it’s definitely a home race and I can’t wait to get back there.” An unclear context which led McLaren to protect its driver by avoiding a media marathon and preserving it for driving.

Thanks for the Aussie welcome 🐯 pic.twitter.com/WIdG3X9txY

— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) March 21, 2024

So, what can Oscar offer his fans in Melbourne? Given the incredible statistics of the locals, Piastri would like to get on the podium, but he is not telling stories. “I had to be very lucky to glean my first points (last year), I will need even more this year to get on the podium.” If McLaren was the second team in the field for a while last year, Ferrari seems to have a hand in Red Bull's wake this year. Worse, papayas even appear slightly behind compared to Mercedes, with whom the fight has started.

“I think being realistic, being in the fight for third fastest team, that's probably where we are at the moment, Oscar analyzes. I think we have gotten closer to Ferrari, at least in Saudi Arabia, but we are still far away... We don't have the means to beat them at the moment. So I think the fight will probably be with Mercedes. I hope we can start fighting a little later in the year, but for now, yes, I think that while I don't want to dash the hopes of the people at home, I think that to do better than P5, you'll have to be lucky, yes! » 

A 5th place on the grid synonymous with hope?

In any case, his Australian weekend started under very good auspices: Oscar Piastri qualified in 5th place, benefiting in particular from a penalty inflicted on Sergio Pérez. Although he admitted to being slightly frustrated at not having completed a lap good enough to play for the Top 3, the young 22-year-old driver – 23 in less than two weeks – hopes to be able to tickle the Red Bulls, the Ferraris… and his teammate, Lando Norris, who will start right in front of him.

“To be honest, it will be difficult to tackle them, recognizes the Melbourne native. I think Ferrari was incredibly strong throughout the weekend. Red Bull looked a bit shaky yesterday, but I don't think anyone will be surprised to see Max [Verstappen] on pole. It will be difficult to challenge them, but I think that's where we are at the moment. So if we can, as much as I hate to say it, finish where we started, then that would be a decent result for us. »

With Dorian Grangier

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