- Oscar Piastri takes maiden F1 victory at Hungarian Grand Prix
- Australian turned down offer to start famous party
- Race marked by controversy over McLaren team orders
Oscar Piastri is enjoying every moment of achieving his dream of winning a Formula 1 Grand Prix. He could happily skip the famous Australian ‘shoey’ celebration though.
Piastri was determined that nothing would stop him from his breakthrough victory at the Hungarian Grand Prix on Sunday, while McLaren put pressure on their number 1 driver Lando Norris after the race to hand victory to his Australian team-mate.
The outcry over Norris’ refusal to follow team orders and hand the winning position back to Piastri after tactical pit stops mid-race was forgotten for the 23-year-old Melbourne native when the Englishman did what he thought was ‘the right thing’ – slowing down and handing him victory with two laps to go.
Whether it was a gift or not, he didn’t care.
“It’s something I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid. We’ve had a few chances in the last few races where we were really close. Now that it’s happening is an incredible feeling,” said Piastri, who won an F1 sprint race last year.
‘This is much more of a proud moment for me than winning the sprint. Of course it was a special moment then, but now that I have no questions, no question marks about whether I am a race winner or not, it is a very nice feeling to have.’
And he was even able to celebrate his victory without having to indulge in the familiar Australian post-race celebration of drinking champagne from a sweaty race boot, a ritual favoured by Australia’s last Formula 1 winner, Daniel Ricciardo, Piastri’s predecessor at McLaren.
Ricciardo, who also won in Hungary a decade ago, was last seen taking a drink after his victory at the 2021 Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Australian Oscar Piastri took his first F1 victory in a dramatic Hungarian Grand Prix
The Australian star subsequently refused to celebrate the shoe party
“The shoey is totally Danny Ric’s thing,” Piastri smiled when asked if he would follow suit.
“I mean, I’m going to get sucked into it because I’m an Aussie, but I don’t know. I’ll try to come up with something new. No, I think that’s over.
“I know we did one last week at Silverstone, but I think we were a bit upset after the race there, so we needed a bit of a pick-me-up. Maybe we’ll do one on the plane on the way back. We can probably afford the clean-up now.
“But no, I’ll leave that to Danny Ric and that can be his legacy. I’ll create my own.”
Piastri is confident that the victory he took in his 35th race in only his second season will not be his last.
When former world champion Nico Rosberg asked him after the race if it would be the first of many triumphs, he said: ‘I hope so. I think I still have to work on a few things. I will enjoy the victory when I can.
Daniel Ricciardo is synonymous with savouring his F1 victories with eye-catching ‘shoe-like’ celebrations
“The team has given me a great car and I really can’t thank them enough for that. I’m trying to do the best I can and I’m learning from every race I do. So hopefully there will be many more to come.”