Aussie rookie stuns in first official F1 test

2 years ago 665

Australia's Oscar Piastri has impressed successful his archetypal authoritative outing for the Alpine Formula 1 team, mounting the 3rd fastest clip astatine the post-season trial successful Abu Dhabi.

Piastri lapped the Yas Marina circuit successful 1:24.523, completing 131 laps for the day, much than doubly the region of a expansive prix.

Mercedes operator Nyck de Vries was fastest successful 1:23.191, with Liam Lawson 2nd successful 1:24.517 for AlphaTauri.

Piastri mislaid a mates of tenths successful postulation connected his last blistery lap, costing him 2nd spot overall. The spread to de Vries was astir identical to the spread betwixt Mercedes and Alpine during Saturday's qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

The Australian has antecedently tested a three-year-old F1 car, but this was his maiden outing successful a modern car.

"It was precise special, archetypal time successful 2021 machinery, which was a bully measurement up from the 2018 F1 cars," helium said.

"The tally program was precise mixed, the greeting we did rather a fewer setup items, which was nice, I consciousness similar I got up to velocity rather quickly. It's bully they spot maine for that.

"In the day we did immoderate driver-based stuff, precocious substance longer runs and past we ended the time with immoderate qualifying (simulations) arsenic well.

"We achieved a batch today."

Piastri's erstwhile F1 tests person been solo affairs, and helium admits it took immoderate accommodation to get his caput astir the information caller satellite champion Max Verstappen and chap Australian Daniel Ricciardo were sharing the way with him.

"When your technologist comes connected the vigor and says that Verstappen is 3 seconds down you, that's beauteous cool," helium explained.

"It's awesome to beryllium connected the aforesaid way arsenic radical I've looked up to for a agelong time.

"To person 2 Aussies backmost connected an F1 way together, it's been a agelong clip since that happened."

The 20-year-old volition service arsenic Alpine's trial and reserve operator successful 2022, having won the F2 title astatine the weekend, to spell with his F3 rubric successful 2020 and Formula Renault Eurocup triumph successful 2019.

He joins Charles Leclerc and George Russell arsenic the drivers to person won some F3 and F2 arsenic a rookie.

"It's specified a monolithic measurement from F2 to F1, successful each aspect," Piastri said.

"You've got a batch much powerfulness and a batch much grip and a batch much downforce. Because I've driven an F1 car a fewer times present I cognize what to expect.

"The magnitude of grip you person ne'er fails to stroke your mind."

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