'There's no guidebook' – Piastri explains what surprised him about life in F1

Oscar Piastri has admitted that the one thing he did not anticipate about life as a Formula 1 driver was the fame that would come with it, with the Australian surprised by how often he has been recognised in day-to-day life.

Piastri made his debut on the grid in 2023 with McLaren – following a much-publicised battle for his services with Alpine – and since then has impressed many with his performances on the track as well as his calm demeanour off it.

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The 23-year-old seemed to quickly adapt to life on the grid but, in an interview with Forbes, Piastri acknowledged that being in the public eye had taken some getting used to.

“You know, you can get advice on how to deal with the media and work with sponsors, but fame is really something that you can’t be taught about,” he explained.

“There’s no guidebook. It’s one thing to be recognised at the track – that’s expected. The biggest thing that surprised me really, it was just like how many people started to recognise me off the track in regular life.”

One thing that didn’t come as a surprise to Piastri was the schedule in the sport, having become accustomed to his race week routine. For Grands Prix held in Europe, the Australian trains from Monday to Wednesday before the event begins on Thursday.

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He also fits in simulator sessions at McLaren’s headquarters, meaning that some flexibility is required.

“It depends a bit on the schedule [with the simulator],” Piastri added. “It could be just time the week before, often more during the week before… sometimes Tuesday could be a simulator day so you have to train on Monday, fly into McLaren on Tuesday, use the simulator, train some more on Wednesday and then arrive at the track that night or Thursday morning for media day at the track.

“If it's like Australia or in Asia you probably fly out, say the weekend before just to get used to the time zone and the jet lag, and for that medium sim before.”

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After a strong first half of the season for McLaren, Piastri currently sits in fourth place of the drivers’ championship on 167 points, just 10 points away from Charles Leclerc in third.