Oscar Piastri delighted McLaren fans by finishing fourth in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, but they may be slightly less impressed by some of the answers he gave in a bizarre interview he put through a lie detector.
F1 presenter Simon Lazenby presents the segment alongside a former FBI and MI6 employee named Russ, who mans the lie detector machine and is instructed not to talk, only nod or shake his head.
In the wide-ranging interview, Piastri stated that not only does he believe he can win a race this year, but that McLaren has the car that can carry the checkered flag.
He also admitted that he was a better all-round sportsman than McLaren teammate Lando Norris – and that he privately enjoyed having an F1 victory to his name, with Norris still waiting for that honour.
Piastri was clearly nervous as he was hooked up to the polygraph in an environment more suited to criminals than F1 drivers
After a series of warm-up questions, presenter Simon Lazenby and a former FBI and MI6 employee, known only as Russ, grilled the Aussie F1 star
The early questions were relatively easy fodder for the Australian driver, when he was asked whether England were a better cricket team than Australia (no) and whether he had ever lied to a Sky Sports presenter (yes), to which Piastri answered truthfully.
Then came a few more simple options to make sure Piastri felt comfortable before the tougher questions.
Are dingoes reliable? No. Is Vegemite better than Marmite? Yes.
Then came the first big one.
“Have you ever committed a crime?” Lazenby asked.
“I don’t think so,” a sheepish Piastri replied.
“Yes or no please,” Lazenby ordered.
“No,” Piastri said, but the detector determined this was a lie, prompting him to add, “Okay, apparently so.”
‘What was that crime? Think back,” Lazenby asked.
‘I was stopped for speeding. But I didn’t get a ticket for it, so officially I didn’t commit a crime,” the 22-year-old said.
Piastri was a big hit with the Australian crowd on his return to Albert Park when he finished fourth at the Australian F1 Grand Prix
Piastri could have become the first Australian to finish on the podium in his home race, but McLaren made way for teammate Lando Norris
Lazenby then focused on Piastri’s relationship with teammate Lando Norris and the McLaren team.
‘Do you like being a McLaren driver?’ Lazenby asked, while Piastri answered yes with a green light from the polygraph.
‘Would you still enjoy being a McLaren driver with half your salary?’ Lazenby asked.
“Yes,” Piastri replied, but the detector came back red as Lazenby burst out laughing.
“Dear, dear, it’s all about the money, Oscar,” he said.
‘Are you very pleased that you won a race during an F1 weekend and Lando didn’t?’ Lazenby asked, referring to the Qatar Sprint that Piasri won last October.
Piastri (center) can brag about Norris (right) and world champion Max Verstappen (left) after winning the Qatar Sprint
Piastri was also grilled about his manager and former Australian F1 champion Mark Webber
After a good chuckle, Piastri admitted that it brought him joy, but denied that he preferred to “keep the peace.”
Finally, Lazenby turned his attention to Piastri’s Australian manager and former F1 star Mark Webber.
“Are you a better driver than Mark Webber?” Lazenby asked.
‘Yes, yes… (but) the lie detector doesn’t know!’ Piastri said.
‘Was he a better driver than Sebastian Vettel?’
“I mean, the stats say no,” the Australian replied before adding: “I’m going to look for a new manager now.”