With Daniel Ricciardo Fading Out, “Hometown” Boy Oscar Piastri Under Focus for a “Crazier” Australian GP

Daniel Ricciardo, in the hearts and minds of the fans, is still alive and kicking. In fact, Red Bull’s third driver might even make an appearance at the upcoming Australian GP. Although the Australian will only be limited to the sidelines and not to the track. Taking the Australian limelight on the track will be Oscar Piastri. This is exactly why the Melbourne-born McLaren man is expecting this year’s Australian GP to be “crazier” for him personally.

Piastri had a nightmare start to life in the premier class. However, Piastri is well aware of the difficulties of adapting to an F1 car, especially a McLaren. This is one of the reasons behind his poor first couple of races. However, forgetting the first two races and heading to his first home race in F1, the Australian revealed his excitement to Speedcafe. “Obviously, it’s my first home race as a driver, which will be an amazing experience, regardless of how it goes. So yeah, can’t wait,” he said.

Piastri then added to discuss the hype around him for the upcoming race and made comparisons with the previous year. He said, “Even last year, being a reserve driver, it was already a pretty crazy experience. So I think I’ve got somewhat of an idea to expect but I’m pretty sure it’ll be another step crazier this year. But I’m looking forward to it. It’s an honour to have a home race and, for me, in my hometown as well, it’s going to be very special.”

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The Australian is pumped to go racing in front of his home crowd cheering him on. However, the current state of the McLaren car might not make it a pleasant outing. Although, the Australian fans might have gotten used to it as Piastri is also following an old Aussie trend in the sport.

Experts believe Oscar Piastri is following the same trend as Daniel Ricciardo

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Indian analyst Karun Chandhok, with the help of examples, gave a bleak look at Piastri’s future. Already, you may ask? Chandhok believes Piastri is already following an Aussie trend that inadvertently hurts the drivers.

“I’m slightly concerned that Oscar Piastri’s following in the trend of Australian drivers making career choices that could come back to bite them,” he said regarding his decision to go with McLaren over Alpine. After stating a few examples, the Indian also mentioned, “obviously the recently well-documented saga of Daniel Ricciardo’s struggles.”

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Do you agree with the expert opinion? Or is it too soon to judge? No one can predict the future but looking at the state of the MCL60, it’s safe to say, Piastri would’ve been better off at Alpine.