Latest / Rusty's Garage / The Motorsport Brief: A bonus episode with Oscar Piastri

Transcript

The Motorsport Brief: A bonus episode with Oscar Piastri · Rusty's Garage

• 0:02
  A listener production.
• 0:04
  Welcome to the Motorsport Brief.
• 0:06
  It's Friday the 15th of September 2023.
• 0:09
  Normally, we tend to do an ep of the brief each week, but today we have a bonus episode for you.
• 0:16
  As we celebrate the F1 night race, we are coming to you from Singapore ahead of Round 15 of the World Championship here this weekend.
• 0:26
  Hi, everybody.
• 0:27
  Greg Rust with you for this edition of the Rusty's Garage Shortcast.
• 0:30
  Yesterday, we released a great chat with Liam Lawson, the 21-year-old Kiwi who's been doing a superb job subbing for Daniel Ricciardo for Scuderia Alphatorre, while Dan recovers from surgery to his injured left hand.
• 0:45
  From the benefits of racing in the Japanese Super Formula Series this year and how it's helped Liam make that sudden F1 transition to what he thinks he needs to achieve in this kind of brief window to ensure that he's left no stone unturned in the bid to secure a full-time drive in Formula One.
• 1:06
  He is proving that he absolutely should be there on the grid.
• 1:10
  Now, if you like Formula One, we recently released a feature episode with Louise Goodman as well, the respected pit reporter, from taking part in a proper pit stop for the coverage to media training stars of the future, including a young Lando Norris, plus the driver swap between Martin Brundle and the legendary Colin McRae, all in the name of PR.
• 1:34
  We have also dropped an episode with Super Ute racer Dave Casey, who is in action this weekend at Sandown there in the support categories.
• 1:42
  How Mudflap, as they call him, is working with specialist trainers to get him in the right frame of mind.
• 1:49
  And the fire-breathing rotary that he shoehorned somehow into one of the most unlikely four-wheel drive chassis.
• 1:56
  Plus his role in a major North Queensland event that attracts interest from all around Australia.
• 2:03
  That's a special branded ep, all with thanks to Bendix Breaks, who've been both great supporters of ours and Dave's along the way.
• 2:12
  For this edition of The Brief, we've been able to speak to McLaren's Oscar Piastri, the young Aussie who's been earning high praise in his first full season of Formula One, particularly from within his McLaren team.
• 2:23
  Now, he has a lot of commitments on race week, and the team have been good enough to give us a small window so it doesn't overload him.
• 2:31
  And we did it before Grand Prix weekend really shifted into gear.
• 2:35
  There were several moments during this conversation where his smile kind of told me more of the story.
• 2:42
  You sense he's in a really good place heading into these final eight races of the year.
• 2:50
  It's nice to catch up with you actually face to face this time.
• 2:52
  I think the last time we spoke was in Canada.
• 2:55
  Singapore is this typically, you know, gruelling event.
• 2:58
  New venue for you, obviously.
• 3:00
  What sort of things have you done to acclimatise and prepare?
• 3:04
  Yeah, so before the weekend, I did more heat-specific training back in the UK.
• 3:10
  The UK not being a very hot country, but heat chambers are a wonderful and painful thing.
• 3:17
  So I've been doing quite a lot of that, like on an exercise bike, and then I've come out to the race a few days early.
• 3:23
  So I got here on Sunday, actually, before the race, and yeah, just getting used to the heat, the climate, and also just the time schedule that we're on.
• 3:34
  on a very weird time schedule we're waking up at about two in the afternoon and sleeping at about three or four in the morning so um it's a bit different to some of the other races but um no i feel like i'm well prepared cool turnaround by mclaren this season has given you know lots of people lots of fans something to be excited about um on paper do you reckon the car will suit the the marina bay layout and there's obviously changes that we take into account particularly in the final sector this year
• 3:59
  I hope so.
• 4:00
  I think it could be a better weekend for us than Monza, I hope.
• 4:05
  Obviously, there's a lot less straights, which for us at the moment is a good thing.
• 4:10
  But also, the slower corners are maybe not our strongest point either.
• 4:14
  We really like tracks that have a lot of quick corners.
• 4:17
  So it maybe doesn't expose our...
• 4:20
  biggest weaknesses but doesn't allow us to show the biggest strengths either so um we'll see how we go i'm sure we'll be somewhere in the pack with ferrari mercedes aston somewhere around there i think red bull will still be a step ahead of the rest but um hopefully we can be more towards the front of that pack this weekend cool round 15 of 22 when you look at the year so far how happy are you and and perhaps the you know the sense of progression that you've you've enjoyed you
• 4:45
  Yeah, I feel like it's been a good season.
• 4:48
  I think I've learned a lot, which has been the main aim, I think.
• 4:53
  Obviously, once we put the upgrades on the car in Austria and Silverstone, I was still trying to learn, but obviously there was a bit more of a carrot as well.
• 5:01
  So, no, it's been good.
• 5:04
  I think, especially since we've put those upgrades on the car, I feel like I've been able to rise to the challenge of fighting at the front and,
• 5:12
  um yeah the last few weekends in particular i've been very happy with with the the pace i've showed that maybe not being the most straightforward of weekends but um no i feel like i'm getting more and more comfortable each time i drive the car which uh at the end of the day is still the the most important thing cool we're obviously on relatively on the doorstep of aussie have family come up to to take this in with you as well
• 5:32
  Yeah, I've got a lot of family here this weekend, which is really nice.
• 5:35
  Obviously, apart from Melbourne, it's pretty difficult to get to a lot of the other races.
• 5:39
  So, no, it'll be nice to have them all here and cheering on.
• 5:43
  Cool.
• 5:43
  Great endorsement by Zac Brown in a recent column on the McLaren side of your talent, your determination.
• 5:49
  I think you talked about you being sort of ballsy and patient and studious.
• 5:53
  I love that stuff.
• 5:54
  I'm interested to know kind of where that comes from.
• 5:56
  Have you always had that?
• 5:58
  Is that a learned thing, that sort of inner drive?
• 6:01
  Um, I think the, the ballsy comment, I, I, I don't know.
• 6:05
  Um, I think it's more just from, uh, you know, I seem to be quite good in the high speed corners, um, which has been, I'd say, uh, a relative strength, um, through my career in, in cars.
• 6:20
  So, yeah, I guess that's where that comes from.
• 6:21
  But I think the calmness and studio side of things comes even from when I was at school.
• 6:27
  You know, I was always trying to do the best that I could.
• 6:31
  And that's where I guess in some ways the competitive side of me came from as well.
• 6:34
  I always tried to get the best results at school.
• 6:37
  best results in sport i just wanted to try and be the best so i think that's carried through now into my career um and the calmness you know i think in motorsport you have a lot of moments where it tests your your calmness um so you know you get you very quickly build up a lot of experience with that side of things and i think for me you know keeping your emotions in check and being able to think clearly is a very important um
• 7:01
  aspect that you know you need to be able to drive a car quickly but um it's very rare that you drive in in perfect conditions where nothing's going wrong or or everything's going right so um yeah being able to to cope in lots of different circumstances and not get too emotional is a very important thing cool
• 7:18
  That kind of leads me to the next one.
• 7:20
  And I know you'll probably tell me that it's no big deal.
• 7:22
  But Mark Webber reminded me in a chat for this that basically, you know, you finished your schooling while living away from the comforts of home and family while braining them in F3 and F2.
• 7:34
  How much of that, do you reckon, helped shape the Oscar piastry we see today?
• 7:39
  Yeah, I think staying in school was one of the better decisions we made for me growing up.
• 7:45
  You know, I think firstly, it's certainly no guarantee you'll have a career in motorsport.
• 7:50
  So I think it's always an important thing.
• 7:52
  But also, you know, I did a lot of engineering based subjects.
• 7:55
  So I have maybe a bit more understanding of that side of things now, but also training
• 8:01
  Just applying your work and working hard and stuff like that, it's all very important and transferable.
• 8:08
  I guess a lot of people see us driving the cars as quickly as we can, but there's a hell of a lot more that goes on behind the scenes and knowing how to improve and how to go quicker and where to look.
• 8:17
  that's a critical part of it so um no I think that's been an important thing I think also still continuing school in the UK when I moved over was important as well you know just for from a community aspect and helped me to to settle into living away from home so um no I think at the time of course going to school as a 14 15 year old is never the most fun probably but in hindsight it was a very very good move
• 8:44
  A quick break here.
• 8:45
  Oscar has been good enough to stick around for a little bit longer on this edition of Rusty's Garage, and that is coming your way in just a few moments.
• 8:56
  You're listening to The Motorsport Brief, a short cast offering here on Rusty's Garage, and for this special bonus edition, we have caught up with Oscar Piastri ahead of round 15 of the Formula One season, the Singapore Grand Prix.
• 9:10
  Back to the convo now.
• 9:13
  Personal high for you.
• 9:14
  I love some of the stuff we saw during the year with you spending time with the Aussie cricket team around the Ashes and so on.
• 9:20
  Have you kept in contact with some of them?
• 9:22
  And what were the kind of takeaways out of that for you?
• 9:25
  I mean, clearly you enjoyed being in their company and you have a passion for that.
• 9:29
  Yeah, I've always liked cricket growing up.
• 9:32
  Um, before I went racing, I played cricket every now and again, not every now and again in summer.
• 9:36
  And it was kind of the last sport I had to give up really because it worked well with the off season for racing.
• 9:43
  So, um, I always enjoyed that side of things.
• 9:47
  Always watch the cricket when I go home for Christmas.
• 9:49
  Um.
• 9:50
  So yeah, to be able to meet those guys, you know, some of them I've grown up watching as a little kid, um, was, was very, very special.
• 9:57
  And, you know, I think I'm now in a very privileged position where I can, you know, try and take notes from, from other sports, not just the cricket cricketers, but from everywhere and seeing elite sports people, you know, doing their job is, uh, always a new perspective and a new way of doing things.
• 10:13
  So, um,
• 10:14
  No, it was very, very cool.
• 10:15
  Nice to meet some childhood heroes as well.
• 10:18
  But, yeah, also, you know, there's a bit of learning there as well.
• 10:21
  This year has been crazy for you, I would imagine, with, you know, media and interest from home and so on.
• 10:27
  What's that side of it been like for you and even some of the social media things that we've seen you doing and so on?
• 10:31
  Have you enjoyed that aspect of it?
• 10:33
  Yeah, it's definitely a different aspect of it, of course.
• 10:38
  I'm sure we all love to go driving.
• 10:40
  That's what we're here to do.
• 10:41
  But it's a different side of things.
• 10:44
  And I think for me, getting used to, especially when we started getting some better results, fighting for podiums, qualifying the top three.
• 10:53
  a few more people started to know who I was.
• 10:56
  So yeah, it's definitely a learning experience.
• 10:59
  It's not, it's sort of one of those things you can't really prepare for or study for.
• 11:04
  So yeah, it's been exciting to get used to.
• 11:07
  It's been nice in some ways, but yeah, definitely a learning curve.
• 11:12
  A little bit of banter with Scotty McLaughlin on socials recently, which I thought was quite good.
• 11:16
  This weekend, Sandown 500 in Australia for supercars and Bathurst is coming up.
• 11:20
  Obviously, this is your focus here now, what you're doing in Formula 1, but do you keep a little bit of an eye on perhaps something like Bathurst and so on?
• 11:26
  Is there a little bit of interest in that?
• 11:28
  I always try to watch Bathurst if I can, but in the UK, it's at a really bad time.
• 11:34
  It's basically all the way through the night.
• 11:36
  So I will try and watch it if I can.
• 11:39
  I always try and keep an interest in it and, you know, always loved watching supercars growing up.
• 11:45
  Of course, now being on the other side of the world, it's a bit harder to watch, but I've, you know, been keeping up with the results.
• 11:52
  So, yeah, hopefully it's a good race.
• 11:54
  And if I get a chance to watch, then I'll be sure to watch it.
• 11:57
  Cool.
• 11:57
  A couple to finish here.
• 11:59
  The interaction with the Aussie team on the Ashes side of things, did that create some interesting banter here with the Poms in the team and yourself?
• 12:06
  Yeah, definitely.
• 12:08
  Being one of the only Aussies, my physio is also an Aussie and we're pretty much the only two in the team, which is English.
• 12:15
  It was very happy when we were 2-0 up and then slowly got a little bit less happy.
• 12:22
  The other boys got a bit more chirpy.
• 12:23
  So, yeah.
• 12:24
  Yeah.
• 12:24
  It was a fun time.
• 12:26
  You know, we were all watching it in between sessions and stuff like that.
• 12:28
  We had it on the TVs and the hospitality.
• 12:30
  So, no, it was very, very cool to watch that.
• 12:32
  And, yeah, nice bit of banter exchange as well.
• 12:35
  Cool.
• 12:35
  Finally, a few rounds to go, obviously, in this season.
• 12:38
  What's the kind of one box that you perhaps really want to tick in this first year that you may not have done yet?
• 12:47
  Um, good question.
• 12:48
  I mean, of course, a podium, you know, I try not to focus on it.
• 12:54
  Um, we've been close multiple times, finished second in the sprint in, in spa, but it's not quite the same.
• 13:01
  Um, so yeah, I mean, if the opportunity presents itself, then of course that, but even if I don't get that, I've been, you know, happy with, with what I've been able to do.
• 13:10
  I feel like we've, um,
• 13:11
  maximized a lot of our opportunities, especially our opportunities for the podium.
• 13:15
  I feel like we've been able to do nothing more.
• 13:20
  So from that side of things, I don't think there's too many boxes left to tick.
• 13:23
  Of course, I want to keep learning and learning.
• 13:25
  But yeah, apart from getting results involved, I even got the fastest lap last time out.
• 13:30
  So that box, I guess, has ticked.
• 13:32
  I've led a lap now.
• 13:33
  So yeah, I guess that's probably the last one.
• 13:36
  But I'm not really putting any pressure to make it happen.
• 13:38
  Good on you.
• 13:39
  We love the calmness.
• 13:40
  We love what you've done already.
• 13:42
  Really enthused about what's happened so far and excited for what's to come.
• 13:46
  Little window of opportunity for us to catch up with you here and we're very grateful.
• 13:49
  Thank you very much.
• 13:50
  No worries.
• 13:50
  Thanks for having me.
• 13:53
  Now, it might feel like a quali session, that one, only 10 minutes, but we were grateful to McLaren and Jam Sports Management for the brief window in Oscar's schedule before race weekend proper in Singapore got underway.
• 14:04
  And I was conscious of a few race-orientated questions, but also to hopefully ask a few different things that might give you a better sense to help you get to know Oscar a bit better and what a driven athlete he is.
• 14:19
  A couple of other pieces of news before we go.
• 14:22
  The Trackhouse team, who Shane Van Gisbergen made some successful appearances for in recent months, have confirmed they have signed SVG to a 2024 program across the three rungs at the top level of NASCAR.
• 14:36
  That includes selected races in Cup, Xfinity and the Truck Series.
• 14:41
  He will stick with the team that he won for in Chicago, but he reportedly said,
• 14:46
  fielded offers from a number of different teams, including Ford and Toyota outfits.
• 14:53
  Toby Balboan of Sprint Car Hub has summed up the disappointment of Sydney-based speed car fans and those in New South Wales generally when we learned that the brand new Eastern Creek Speedway has closed and the entire 2023-24 season closed.
• 15:11
  has been cancelled.
• 15:12
  What the hell is going on there?
• 15:16
  The original build, the cost of it, reportedly blew out to more than two and a half times what it was supposed to cost to begin with, and there have been ongoing issues around things like drainage and more.
• 15:28
  The fans deserve better from something that was desperately needed for the Sydney market,
• 15:34
  and had great potential, on paper at least anyway.
• 15:38
  And finally, body shells have arrived and the work has begun on the brand new Peugeot 308 TCR cars that Gary Rogers Motorsport is building.
• 15:47
  They are aiming to debut that car at the Bathurst International in November, testing of the new hybrid system, which is due for introduction next year as well.
• 15:57
  has also been undertaken recently.
• 16:00
  We'll keep you up to date on that story.
• 16:02
  What a place to debut that car.
• 16:05
  What an event to do it.
• 16:06
  The Bathurst International in front of all of those overseas drivers and teams.
• 16:11
  Cannot wait for that.
• 16:12
  That is it for this edition of the Motorsport Brief.
• 16:15
  Enjoy the Sandown 500 and the Singapore Grand Prix this weekend.
• 16:20
  I'm Greg Rust.
• 16:20
  We'll catch you next time.
• 16:21
  Bye for now.