Credits: IMAGO / AFLOSPORT
Oscar Piastri became only the fifth-ever driver from Australia to win an F1 Grand Prix after his Hungarian GP victory last Sunday. The last Aussie to win a race in F1 – Daniel Ricciardo – would celebrate his success by doing a shoey on the podium. However, Piastri refused to follow in his footsteps. His celebrations were rather subdued, and not over the top by any means.
Piastri performed a shoey during a fan segment in Silverstone two weeks ago. But he refrained from doing the same at the Hungaroring podium. This purposeful omission stemmed from his desire to create his signature move.
The Melbourne-born driver said,
“The shoey is Danny Ric’s thing. I mean, I’m going to get roped into it because I’m an Aussie, but I don’t know. I’ll try and think of something new. I think that’s gone and done. I’ll leave that to Danny Ric and that can be his legacy. I’ll create my own.”
Piastri did not decide on what his celebration would look like. But considering McLaren’s progress and pace, the Aussie driver should get more chances later this season.
Piastri reveals how he is a calm and unexcitable person
After Piastri’s race in Hungary, many noticed how he wasn’t overly emotional, screaming or shouting like many do after their maiden F1 wins.
Some wondered if it was down to McLaren’s poor strategy call which almost took his win away. Or perhaps the fact that the win did not quite sink in. The 23-year-old revealed it was neither.
He said,
“I’m not really the kind of person to get overly emotional. I don’t think you’re ever really going to see that from me.”
However, he did insist that he fulfilled a childhood dream by winning the Hungarian GP. Like all budding drivers, he too was dreaming of it from a young age.