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Oscar Piastri: From Rookie to Title Contender | The Fast And Curious GOLD

Oscar Piastri: From Rookie to Title Contender | The Fast And Curious GOLD

The Fast and the Curious Jan 02, 2026 45 min
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About this episode

Oscar Piastri's journey from rookie to a two-time Grand Prix winner is explored through candid conversations spanning his debut season to his rise as a title contender. The podcast highlights his calm demeanor, rapid development, and the challenges of adapting to Formula One's demands. Listeners get a glimpse of Oscar's personality, including humorous moments like singing the McLaren news jingle and stories about his Australian roots. The hosts discuss his rivalry and teamwork with Lando Norris, his ambitions, and the pressures of competing at the highest level, offering a comprehensive portrait of a young driver on the cusp of greatness.

Topics: oscar piastri career progression rookie season experiences formula one challenges mclaren team dynamics race wins and performance driver rivalry and teamwork personal anecdotes physical and mental preparation fan interactions and media future championship aspirations
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Hello and welcome to the Fast and the Curious Gold. This is a celebration of some of our favorite moments over
the last three seasons and it sort of brings together some of our favorite chats with some of these
incredible drivers. I'm Betty Glover. This is Christian, Hugh Gilchristian. Who are we talking
about today? We are talking today about Nigel Mansel, some of our faith. No, we're not.
We're talking about Oscar Piestri.
One of my favorite drivers on the grid. We say this every single time. We talk about Oscar
Piestri on this podcast. He was the first ever driver that we interviewed on this podcast. We did it in a
weird hotel room. I remember walking past him and he was shoving a massive burger down his
mouth. He was so young and fresh. We talked to him about his aims, his goals, how many tickets he
was getting asked for for the Melbourne Grand Prix. He was so fresh and like, what's that word that
everyone says? Like doughy-eyed. Yeah, I know what you mean. I don't know the word. No, I know exactly
what you're getting at here, but I also don't know the words. Let's go with that. It's like a
deer, like a little baby deer. I tell you what, would you like to know who I'd like to give
credits for when we talk about that first ever chat, which we're going to hear shortly, by the
way. The person I give credit to is Mr. Greg James. Now, bear in mind, we're going back to the first
ever recording of the Fast and Curious. This was like Episode 3 that it ended up being, but it was the
first ever recording session. And the podcast moved on a bit since then, but we were sort of, the
whole point was better. You were a sports fan, but didn't really know the sport very well. Greg
knew it a bit, but not loads, more of a car fan. And me, as this F1 geek, was guiding you two
times through the sport as you two got to know it. Three years on, you know, God, you know, more
value than me. So like, it's not really like that anymore, but that's sort of what it was in the
first season. And so it's fair to say Greg didn't know loads about Oscar. Like I knew that this kid
had won F3 and F2, but Greg didn't know loads about him, by the very nature of what the
podcast was. And Greg just made this observation that was just like, if this kid who is in front
of him has never met before, and Greg just went, he's, you're very still, Oscar,
you're very calm. And little did we know, here we are three years of racing later, that's sort
of what he's known for, this sort of unbreakable stillness, this calmness, this chill. And that ability
to be that, as well as his raw speed, is what led him to fight for a world championship and
take it right to the wire in just his third season. He'll be gutted, he missed out on
the title. As you're listening to this, he's probably sat on a beach somewhere looking
as well. But I keep saying it over and over again. It was only his third season. And yes,
he had that little dip that cost him the title, that dip in races in the final third of the season
that he pulled back from Qatar, and he did brilliantly in Abu Dhabi. But that dip cost him
the title. But he's learning that as a Formula One driver over the course of a 24 race season,
that you're going to have dips, he may be struggled with the upgrade package they bought,
whereas Landau was able to adapt to it a little sooner. Again, things like that come in time. But oh,
my, I just think he's so special. And I think he'll win world championships. Not being
patronized in there. I just think he's a world championship material driver.
He is. He is. There is something incredibly special about Oscar Piestri. And if you don't
see it, then you're blind because he is, oh, he's just one of those sports people that you
just look at and you think, yeah, you're it. You are going to be incredible. He's got something,
whatever it is that everyone talks about, he has definitely got it. And we've talked to him about
so many different sort of milestones throughout his three year career in Formula One. We've had him
singing McLaren news. We've had him blowing... That's why I was one of my proudest moments in the
sport, getting him to sing that jingle. Yeah, that was a great moment for me. I nearly retired.
We've had him... What, what those party proper things called? Like the...
Yeah, not a party proper, like a party celebration thing, one of them. Yeah, that's become a gif.
We've had him doing that. We've had him doing all sorts of weird and wonderful things. So...
Pot up with a lot of crap from us, hasn't he? The poor lad.
You can tell he actually enjoys it, I think. He loves it. Yeah, I think so.
Right, sit back everybody and enjoy some of our favorite moments from Oscar Piestri.
February 2023.
It's great to have you on the podcast. I mean, it's an exciting time for Formula One,
but a very exciting time for you. Yes. Now, I think having like the little stint at
McLaren pre-Christmas, going home for a bit, coming back again, you know, it's kind of like coming
back to a bit more familiar territory now, which is nice. But no, super excited to get going
again and get started in my debut season. I adore Formula One with every inch of me.
And... February's about the point where I get, we're like...
By weekend, silly, have some purpose again. I get quite excited.
You're going into your debut season of Formula One, like if I'm excited.
How? You must just be buzzing. Are you or do you have to retain some
professionalism and calm a bit? Yeah, there is an element of professionalism.
I think also at the moment, I'm very quickly finding out the pre-season is probably one of
the busier times for all of us, because we've got a lot of our media commitments,
a lot of our marketing stuff, like for the year, a lot of photoshoots.
A lot of boring stuff. Yeah. This isn't boring.
It's not the driving. It's not driving an FM car, is it?
I mean, you know, it's nice to have a chat at the Hilton,
but it's not quite driving a 200 miles an hour around Bahrain.
Put it very well. Thank you.
What was it you said about getting your neck and your back into it?
What did you mean by that? Like getting comfortable?
So, like your neck, so like the biggest physical exertion for us is our neck,
which is one quite odd muscle to train because nobody really thinks to train the neck.
And also it's not a very easy muscle to train because there's limited things you can do.
It is one of those odd sports, isn't it?
A bit like, I know you're a cricket fan as well, and I'm a huge cricket fan.
God is taking in what?
30 seconds dimension cricket.
Only because, because when you, if you bowl, you haven't bowled for a while,
same feeling. There's muscles that you can't exercise really any other way apart from bowling.
So it's a similar thing. It was a valid question.
I saw an opportunity. I saw, sorry, I saw a gap.
I saw a gap and I went for it.
Very good.
There you go.
But while we're on cricket, when was your last play?
I played a game actually, one singular game. I think it was two years ago now.
But before that I hadn't played since school.
There's such a story behind every single person that ends up in a Formula One car.
So I'd love to hear a bit about your first cart, I guess,
when was the first time that you thought I'm really good at racing.
I'm going to do this.
So to go really to the beginning of this story,
I actually raced remote control cars first.
So that was when I was about six years old.
Sorry, what do you mean by a remote control car?
What do you mean by a remote control car?
Literally my childhood was a little car.
Like a little car?
Yeah, probably a little car, surely.
Yeah, no, no. I know what a remote control car.
I used to have a little mini actually that I used to remote control around.
But I just wanted to double check.
I was thinking though.
I didn't think you could actually sell the proper races.
Yeah, there's those, but like they go fast.
So like the ones that I raced, not one, not when I was six,
but when I was like eight or nine,
they went up to about 60 miles an hour.
Nice, seven days maybe.
So pretty quick.
And I like to follow that with your eyes
and they get to that speed very quick
because they only weigh like a kilogram or so.
Yeah, for the benefit of the listeners,
this is not little Oscar sitting on top of it.
No, no, no.
Quis four.
Oh, I don't want to go on mirrors in the fast.
Yeah, you are.
So I started there and then like naturally,
there's some people from the motor sport community that do that.
Yeah.
Because at the end of the day, there is still racing cars.
And then yeah, when I was about nine or 10,
I had my first going up in a proper go kart.
And then the next week, which wasn't mine.
And then the next week I had my own.
So, I started from there.
And having won Formula 3 in your debut year
and Formula 2 in your debut year,
do you worry going into Formula 1
that it will be too easy and the winning will be?
Formulatical mode.
No, no, not particularly.
You know, I think we'll see where we are as a team
at McLaren.
Hopefully we've made some good progress from last year, I hope.
But I think for me, I've got much more
to worry about on my own personal development
and stuff like that before I need to start worrying about
whether we're fighting for wins and championships so far.
But no, to answer your question,
I don't think it will be too easy.
It's very reasonable answers to the question.
Give you that.
Did you ever go to the Australian Grand Prix as a kid?
I went, I think only once or once or twice.
Yeah, so the only time I went was,
well, a funny story, a side story.
So I lived, well, lived about 15 minutes from Albert Park.
So for me, it is like literally a home race,
like it's closer than what my local go-kart track was.
So then the first actual Grand Prix I went to was I think 2014.
So unfortunately, I never actually got to watch a race
in the V8 era, which my ears I'm probably sure
are pretty thankful.
You can hear back to the meat because of that.
It's not many sporting events where they give out earplugs.
So that year in 2014 that I went,
I was like a grid kid.
So I got to hold, it was, whose flag was it?
It was Danny Kiviat's flag, actually.
And so it was me, a bunch of people
that I was racing against in go-karts.
Like we all got to hold a flag of a driver each
and Kiviat's car broke down on the lap to the grid.
So I didn't actually get to me.
So I'm a good lap.
So I'm a good luck charm, really.
If you haven't raced for so long,
how hard do you think psychologically
will it be to get in that car and do your first race?
I think there would definitely be some nerves.
I think there would have been nerves regardless of the situation.
But I think in some ways,
the way I'm kind of looking at is that the step from F2 to F1,
both in terms of the cars,
the race distance is like the races twice as long compared to F2.
And I'm racing against world champions
and the best drivers in the world.
So I think regardless of what
the last 18 months has had in store for me,
it would have been a similar kind of shock.
There's just a bit of an element of, I guess, rustedness going in.
So I think it doesn't change that much for me,
but certainly the first lap lining up on the grid,
there's going to be some nerves,
but there's going to be a lot of excitement too.
This might be a stupid question.
Forgive me.
Have you met everyone else on the grid?
No, I haven't.
So I've met...
See, that's mad.
That is.
Yeah, that is mad.
I thought probably like...
Have you not met?
I've met probably...
I haven't met that many.
I've met probably a quarter of the grid.
Really?
Wow.
Yeah, like I've met Lando now,
but until this year I had never met Lando.
How do you never race?
You must have raced against each other.
No, not even.
We were always...
So we're like, I think, two years, age difference.
Maybe it's a touch older.
And we've been...
Oh, God.
We've just stayed two years apart.
The whole way.
Pretty much.
Wow.
Through our career.
So we've never crossed paths.
But like I've raced against Guan Yu-jo,
a Chinese driver,
and a fellow rookie Logan Sarge,
and I was teammates with him in F3.
Yeah.
But apart from those two,
I've not raced against any others.
April 2023.
If you want to listen to Oscar Co.
hosting for the first time,
it was episode three of The Fast and the Curious.
At that point, Oscar,
you had not driven a Formula One race yet.
You were about to make your debut from McLaren.
You've now driven three.
And the big news is, Oscar,
you scored your first ever Formula One points
at your home Grand Prix,
the Australian Grand Prix.
How did that feel?
Yeah, it was exciting to do it at home.
It was a crazy race.
Anyone who hasn't watched it,
it's quite a long watch.
But it's chaotic.
It's good.
But yeah, you know,
I think it was just a very cool experience
the whole weekend.
And yeah, maybe a little bit of luck
involved to get us into the points.
But no, it was good.
Pace was pretty strong
compared to the first two races.
And yeah, managed to...
I mean, we had a bit of bad luck
in the first couple of races
with my front wing taking Orlando
and a few other issues
on our side of things in Bahrain.
But no, nice to be on the good end
and get myself in the points
and Lando as well.
I'm just curious because...
You're fast, I'm curious.
Didn't even mean to do that.
When we had our first chat,
we were in a random hotel room
in North London.
And we could see this sort of
wonder and excitement in your eyes.
Now you've done three races.
Does that chat feel a lifetime ago?
I mean, it's not like you're deep into your F1 career.
You're three races in.
But at the same time,
that must feel like ages ago.
It does feel like it's a while ago, actually, yeah.
I think there's been a lot
that's gone on since last time
I spoke to you guys.
And obviously we were in Bahrain
for a few weeks with testing
and then the first race
off to Saudi Arabia
and then off to Melbourne.
So it's been a very busy
couple of months since we last spoke.
That's for sure.
But yeah, I feel like I'm settling in well.
I feel like I'm learning all the time.
And yeah, just enjoying being in F1 drives.
That's cool.
Does it feel as good as you hoped?
Is it harder?
Is it better?
Has it lived up to expectations?
Exceeded them?
It's been cool, definitely.
I think for me,
just going back racing
is the thing I was missing
so much last year.
And it's difficult sometimes
to appreciate what you're doing
because you're working 24-7.
There's a lot going on
and obviously it's a competitive environment.
So you're focused on
trying to do better and better.
And in my case,
learn as much as I can at the same time.
So yeah, it happens very quickly.
And sometimes you've got to take a step back
and appreciate what you're doing.
But for me,
I'm doing my dream job
and just enjoying it at the moment.
So it's been cool.
I think as good as I expected.
Driving F1 cars for a living,
it's pretty hard to be disappointed about that.
That could be a lot worse.
Exactly.
No, it's been good,
it's been enjoying it.
And yeah, nice to get my first points
so that was a good boost.
I saw something over the weekend
that was easily my favorite
bit of F1 content over the weekend.
Your granny made
Lamington for everyone at McLaren.
Now, a few things here.
Number one,
obsessed that your granny
made the team a snag.
Like, what a woman.
Be what's Lamington
and see where you are.
Were you a bit like granny,
thanks, but they'll be fine.
Like, just tell me everything about that.
I'm obsessed with that.
Yeah.
So, yeah, it's like my grandma's specialty,
I guess you're going to call that.
So she made Lamingtons,
which, what's the best way to describe it?
It's basically a cake
with like almost kind of like a sponge cake,
I want to say,
with like chocolate
on the outside and coconut.
Oh, nice.
Yeah, it's very nice.
But also, she makes,
they're called rumbles.
So, they're her true classic,
which I always get boxes of when I come home.
So they're like crushed up biscuits
with condensed milk, cocoa powder
and rolled in coconut.
So they're the real OGs.
The Lamingtons are just the stereotypical
Australian treat.
But no, she made the box for me,
however many she made for the team as well.
But no, the team loved them.
Obviously, social media did as well,
which was cool.
But no, it was nice.
She would have made that regardless
of who they were going to.
Oscar, one of my favorite moments
of your first appearance on this podcast
was you talking about being an Australian
Grand Prix grid kid.
And bless you not being able to meet
the driver who you were next to,
Danny Kiviak,
because I think he broke down
on the way to the grid or something.
You had a grid kid this time round
and I believe there was a bit of a,
well, maybe a coincidence,
maybe not a coincidence,
but you didn't break down
on the way round.
Thank goodness.
Did you get to meet your grid kid?
I did get to meet my grid kid,
yes.
And his name was also Oscar.
Hey.
Amazing.
No, it was nice to see all of them.
Yeah, it was a cool experience.
And for me, obviously,
doing it not that long ago,
although it was a while ago now,
eight years ago.
Yeah, it was cool to see kids
in the position that I was not too distant,
not that long ago.
So yeah, nice to see them there.
All the grid kids enjoyed it.
I hope.
So, no, it was nice.
Oscar, we do a little regular feature
on this podcast
that's becoming surprisingly popular.
Someone in your lovely team
likes to give us updates
on all things McLaren
and we bring our listeners those updates.
And it's become a regular feature.
We like to call McLaren News
and I like to sing the jingle
to McLaren News
as it's a regular feature.
Oscar, would you like to hear it?
Sure, yes.
Yes, OK, good.
That's a solid note.
You can say no.
No, no, he just...
No, he's been very clearly said.
He wants to hear it.
No.
You know.
Right.
Here we go.
See what you think to this, Oscar.
McLaren News
with Oscar Piastri.
Oscar, what do you think?
Beautiful.
Thank you.
Beautiful.
You could be a news anchor tomorrow, I reckon.
There we go.
Thank you, Oscar.
They just didn't call you a ****.
No.
Anchor.
He said news anchor.
Oh, sorry.
The line broke up.
Yeah, right.
Of course it did.
Yeah.
So, we'd like to do some breaking news lines
while we've got you here, Oscar.
And we're going to do that
in the form of getting some listener questions
because I like to try and answer as many of them
as I can.
But obviously I've never driven an F1 car
and never will.
My talent is more in singing jingles
as we've just heard.
I don't know about that.
Well, I get a lot more support from Oscar
than I do from my so-called teammate.
But anyway, starting...
And this is a very technical question, Oscar.
So, bear with us if you lose it.
Gueno and Rosanna both separately messaged us to ask,
what do the drivers do
if they need a wee during the race?
It's the high quality stuff
we go for on this podcast.
So, in the case of Melbourne,
you wait for a red flag
and then go to the toilet then.
No.
Wait for the inevitable red flag.
There'll be one along soon.
Exacto.
But normally, yeah,
one, either you hold it in for the race
or two, yeah, you go in your race suit.
You obviously can't pull over
and just go to the toilet in the middle of the race.
So, I have personally never done it.
I know a couple of people that have.
Oh, come on, give us a name.
No, there's no one on the F1 grid that I know of.
But yeah, if you have to go,
you have to go, unfortunately.
That, ladies and gentlemen, was the McLaren news.
Oscar, would you like to sing the jingle out
or are you going to pass on that opportunity?
I will let you have your glory on that question.
Fine, fine, fine, okay.
By the end of the season,
I'd like a driver to sing McLaren news,
even if he's not a McLaren driver.
It's not going to happen.
No, it probably isn't.
Don't hold your breath.
No.
Are you going to do it?
No, he's not going to do it.
No. Oh, oh, do you want me to do it?
Sing to you.
Oh, do you want me to wrap it up?
Do you want me to do an out jingle as well?
Okay, fine, right.
Quickly, just come on.
McLaren news.
There we go.
September 2023.
Oscar Piaastry.
Hello.
Hello, good to see you all again.
It's always a pleasure to see you, Oscar Piaastry.
And whenever a rookie gets to the end
of his first Formula One season
and has a ticket back to the sports
for the following year or years into the future,
it must feel good.
So obvious first question.
How are you feeling?
Yeah, very, very happy to have my future secured
for the next three years after this one.
So yeah, excited for the years to come.
And yeah, just glad to be able to do what I love
with the team that I'm getting to love
through this year as well.
Yeah, until the end of 2026.
So very excited.
And yeah, nice to have that all done and us to know.
February 2024.
Obviously you had your rookie year.
You're now coming into your first season
where you're not a rookie.
You've got that year under your belt.
What have you learned that you're going to take
into this one?
Very good question.
I still have some pretty clear objectives
I want to work on from last season.
I think my one lap pace generally was decent
or I was happy enough within the second half of the year.
I think race pace is probably still my biggest focus
and how to achieve a better overall race pace
is probably the biggest thing.
But yeah, also just how busy the season was.
I got through the first half thinking I was doing okay
and then the second half of the season hit me like a train.
So with all the flyaway races
and just the jet lag or the travel,
it was pretty impressive how much of a toll it took
and I only really kind of discovered that
or appreciated it fully when I came back
for this season and went okay.
I'm actually able to concentrate properly now
and everything just feels a little bit more sharp again.
So yeah.
Wouldn't it be incredible
if Lewis Hamilton won this year?
That Mercedes.
Oh, it would not be incredible.
No, no, no, no, no.
What are you talking about?
It tells us a great thing to say in the McRowan interview, isn't it?
It tells the story, the story.
Yeah, yeah.
I think Oscar Piastro winning first world championship
is about to be a victory.
Yeah, yeah, that's going to happen.
No, we've got loads of time.
He's 40.
Yeah, you've got loads of time.
Your half is eight.
I am firmly removing myself from this conversation.
Respect your elders, Oscar.
Be patient.
What are my biggest ics about this sport?
Something that just really, really annoys me
is when people call a car her, like, oh, she.
Does she look beautiful out there?
Or she's stunning.
It's a car.
It's a car.
Do you call your car she or her?
No, no.
I call it it or the car.
Or if it's behaving poorly on track, some other words.
But usually it.
OK, well, that's good.
So you're smiling.
It's like, yeah.
Basically, Christian gives you the ick.
Christian always gives me the ick.
No matter what he does.
Is it when he talks about his gums?
The abuse cycle of this sport, I guess,
is unnecessary and wanted and cruel.
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June 2024.
How's life, Oscar?
Good thanks.
Oh, it's Fernanda that's in the tire.
It's a dog toy, Oscar.
Okay, okay.
It's nice though, isn't it?
It's really nice.
It is nice.
Do you have a dog toy look like?
No.
We should start the recording, shouldn't we?
We'll get one.
No, we have started the recording.
Oh, we have started the recording.
Yeah, we are.
We are good.
Welcome to The Fast and the Curious
with her Betty Glover, him, Christian Hugill,
me, team principal, Greg James.
And who's that over there?
Oscar Piestre.
Hey!
Oscar, you didn't sound very enthusiastic
about yourself there.
I must admit.
Well, I'm not used to having to introduce myself
for everyone else, but there you go.
It's funny, that, isn't it?
Yeah.
You've been part of this podcast
for long enough now, Oscar.
You can do some heavy lifting.
You can introduce yourself.
We'll get you doing average next.
Yeah, it's a real one, isn't it?
Because as radio professionals,
we're always having to self-identify ourselves.
I say every single day, I'm like,
it's the record show, Greg James over here,
but Oscar never has to do that.
No, he's an F1 driver.
Because when he talks on team radio
on the telly, it says Oscar Piestre
and he doesn't have to go,
this is Oscar Piestre asking my team
whether I need to box this lap.
It just says it on the graphic,
which is good when you think about it,
isn't it, Oscar?
So that's one less thing for you to do.
Correct, yes.
Although you say that,
I do have to tell my team
that it is me entering the pit lane,
not Lando, because that's caused
some confusion in the past
when we've not said our names.
Really?
Yeah, apparently when I joined,
we sounded so similar
that it was on the radio,
this is, that it was a genuine concern
that we're going to get mixed up
if we didn't say our names.
So I do have to introduce myself to the team
every time I enter the pit lane.
I didn't know that.
That's great.
Oscar, is that the same across F1
or is that just because you two
seem quite, sound quite similar?
I think different teams
probably do similar things,
but they might do different,
like I'm sure most teams
announce that they're in the pit lane,
but yeah, there was particular emphasis
put on myself and Lando
in terms of letting the team know
which one it was.
We should have started really this episode
not by talking about
the Fernando Alonso Dog Toy,
but by saying,
double Grand Prix winner Oscar Piazzteri.
Yes!
Yes, we are so excited for you, Oscar.
We're so proud of you.
It's amazing.
How does that sound?
How does it feel?
It's, yeah, it's very, very cool.
I mean, I was happy after just having
Grand Prix winner in my,
some of my introductions,
but now two time is double the fun,
I would say.
So it's been a really cool few months.
You know, now that we're
incredibly competitive
and we can fight for wins
pretty much every weekend,
it adds an extra element of fun.
That's for sure.
So it's been very, very cool.
Oscar, it came up on the podcast
a couple of weeks ago
that there isn't like an obvious
big bold Oscar Piazzteri nickname yet,
like some drivers get.
Now obviously we've been cheerleaders
from you for minute one,
as we were saying earlier.
So we've been giving a bit of thought
in recent episodes
to which one might stick.
Now there were a few in the running
which we want to run through
and get your thoughts on.
Now I think Greg,
you came up with this one.
Wizard of Oz was up there.
I just want to interrupt.
That was actually Producer Jimmy.
Oh, it was Producer Jimmy,
was it?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
I think I remember hearing
about this somewhere
and it very,
it got completely lost
on Christian,
I want to say it was.
Yeah, Christian didn't.
Yeah, that's right.
So you listened to that episode.
Christian didn't like it.
Yeah, I loved it.
Yeah, I'm still not sold on it,
I'll be honest.
Let's hear from the Wizard of Oz himself.
What do you think about it?
Creative.
I will definitely give you that.
Yeah.
Well, what about some of the others,
Oscar?
Oscar, what do you think about these?
The Great Barrier Chief?
We can even put his head in his hands.
What do you think of the Great Barrier Chief?
I'll be diplomatic here.
I'm not so sure about it.
Yeah.
OK, fine, that's gone.
OK, we'll cross that one off.
What about what one of our listeners
called Morgan,
who grew up in Melbourne,
she said the wombat,
because you're calm,
you're quite sweet looking on the surface,
but then you can be super fast.
And dangerous when you need to be.
I think I prefer Great Barrier Chief
to the wombat if you want it.
Oh, wow, OK.
Right, that is...
OK, so we're doing a podium.
I mean, we've only got three.
Yeah.
We're doing a podium here.
Wizard of Oz, Barrier Chief,
wombat, who's taking the top spot?
I mean, I think the Wizard of Oz
is kind of the top at the moment.
Oscar, just quickly before we go,
something we used to talk about with you a lot
was the McLaren News jingle,
which people who've been with the podcast
with the start,
whenever there's some McLaren news,
I used to go,
McLaren news.
We often used to say to you
that one day we'll get you to do it.
And as you grew in confidence in the sport,
we thought we'd crack you one day.
And now you're a double race winner.
You've got more confidence under your belts.
Would you be up for singing
the McLaren News jingle now?
If I become a triple race winner...
Winning the triple race winner,
you'll do it.
Is that a deal?
I've raised this mess up up here,
but sure.
This is progress, everyone.
He knows he's going to be winning a race soon.
He knows that.
I was thinking as he wins more races,
it gets less likely.
No, don't do that.
But I'm pleased.
I'm pleased.
Look, the big one.
So, it's going very well for McLaren.
It's going very well for you.
What have been the chats
going into the final bit of the season?
What are your personal aims?
What are the team aims?
Is Lando going to catch max?
Tell us all the things in your head.
I mean, the first big one
is to try and win the constructors' championship, obviously.
Got a nice little lead now.
So, I mean, yeah.
The aim is to just try and extend that
as much as we can, pretty much.
And naturally, if we're doing that,
then there's a good chance
that Lando and I are also making our
way up the driver's standings too.
So yeah, we'll see what happens.
I mean, if there's opportunities
for me to win races,
then I'll try and take them.
If not, then I'll try and score
as many points for the team as I can
and help out where I can.
But I don't think
either championship is sewed up, definitely.
Hopefully, we can sew up the constructors' championship
sooner rather than later.
But yeah, I think it's going to be an exciting six races.
Yeah, it is. Yes, it is.
February 2025.
Oscar, we know you've been on before,
so you're not exactly new to us.
So I don't feel we need to explain
this too much to you,
but something amused us over the winter.
Well, we've got this new email address.
Contact at FastCuriousPod.com.
Before we even publicized it,
we got a listener question.
Our first question of the year.
You're the first interview
on the first episode of the season.
It's a massive deal for us.
So would you like to join in with celebrating
the first question of the year?
Sure.
Can we just have a couple of...
We've got a couple of props for this,
which Nicola's going to bring over.
It's a big celebration for us
on the Fast and the Curious.
Thank you, Nicola.
Can have a party popper as well.
That would be great.
Thank you.
Yeah, we all get one.
I'm not sure my fingers are going to function
to open the party popper, but thank you.
There you go.
Hope yourself, Oscar.
Ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to our first question of the year.
Oh, well done, Oscar.
I got there.
I got there in the end.
There we go.
Betty, would you like to read
the first question of the year?
Yes.
Oh, I love the smell of fire.
Oh, no, isn't that so nice.
OK, so the first question is from Kevin.
Hello, Kevin.
Kevin.
He says, hello.
I was just wondering if Formula One drivers wear socks.
And if so, are they a special type of sock?
We do wear socks and they are special socks as well.
They are fireproof socks.
So they stop our feet from catching on fire
for a certain amount of time.
Greg's not here, so we shouldn't have any issues
like that this season.
But he has sent us this question, which is Texas.
And he said, hi, Oscar.
Sorry, I can't make it.
Wouldn't it be great if Lewis Hamilton won this season?
Love, Greg.
I mean, no, it would not.
It would still be the same answer as last season.
A year on, no different there.
Yeah, although I would say if I wasn't racing in F1,
seeing Lewis Hamilton win a World Championship with Ferrari
would be pretty cool.
Quite iconic.
Would be if I wasn't racing again.
I don't think he was getting out last season.
Would be in his last season at Mercedes.
Again, his first store in the sport.
But people got very cross on the internet
thinking you were very cross with us.
But your back suggesting that you weren't that cross with us.
No.
OK, that's good.
You'd quite like to win the World Championship, I'm guessing.
Formula One drivers tend to be really keen on doing that.
Lando would quite like to win the World Championship.
The teams won the Constructors World Championship.
Now we would quite like to win the Drivers Championship.
So how does it work with both of you
quite fancying that title?
Well, I think the big message is
if either one of us can't win the World Championship
we still want to be able to finish second.
And I think that's kind of the mentality
we've had for a whole time together.
You know, even when we were towards the back of the grid
we worked very hard together to try and
bring the team back to the front.
And ideally make it a race between just us two
for first and second.
I think we showed last year and the year before
that we're very, very capable of racing each other
and being respectful and keeping it clean.
But yes, only one of us can win.
And of course I want to make sure that that's me.
Lando is going to make sure that that's him.
So of course we'll always do the right thing for the team.
But I think we're now in a position
where hopefully we can start the season strong
and we are going to be racing each other
and trying to win of course the Constructors Championship
but ultimately the Drivers Championship too.
So I think we've proven enough times now
that we can do both and not hinder
one championship for the other.
So I'm excited to see what we can do this year.
Have you two spoken about that?
No.
I don't think we will speak about that either
because I think it's pretty obvious.
Just be awkward as well.
Do you want to win the World Championship?
Yes.
No, mate.
Do you want to win the World Championship?
No, mate.
I thought I'd just let you win it.
No.
All right.
You do it this year and then next year.
We'll flip-flop all the time.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Exactly.
If only it was that easy.
But you personally,
I feel like you've come such a long way
because we say this all the time in our pod
but you were the first driver
that we ever interviewed
when we started this podcast
up three years ago
and you were making your debut
in Formula One
and it was all quite exciting
and now I feel like
you're sort of a completely different person
in the way that you've matured
and the way that you answer questions
and the way that you see yourself racing.
Do you notice that change as well?
Do you feel different?
I would say yes.
I think with experience
in anything you just get more comfortable
and I think also
when you start to have some performances
and results to add to your credibility
it helps you become more comfortable
and stuff like that as well
because there's no point talking a big game
if you then can't back it up
or there's no point
making yourself look silly
when you're not getting the results.
So I think now that I've had
some good results on the board
it's, I feel more comfortable.
I also know the team better.
I know of you guys better.
So everything is just...
That's the main thing.
Yeah.
Do you know what will take full credit
when you win driver's championship
it's because you know what.
Very comfortable on the fast and the curious now
so that really helps going into a weekend.
Yes, but I think just in general
you know everything is much more comfortable
everything feels much more normal
and I mean don't get me wrong
it's still the coolest thing ever
that I get to do this as my job
but it feels much more normal
and I think especially from my first season
or going into my first season
there's just the much bigger sense of
these are the things that happened
in the last two years
that went well, that didn't go well
and you just have much better references
and ultimately the things that you work on
become much more specific so
everything just feels a bit more natural
a bit more comfortable.
And just finally how's your mum?
She's very good.
Oh good.
Social media legend.
She's very good.
Love her.
Will Nan be making any more?
What were they offering?
Rumbles.
Thank you.
Were they back?
Rumbles and Lamingtons.
That's it, Lamingtons.
Lamingtons.
I mean I haven't checked.
I have had some in the off season
just to quality test them
you know just to make sure
that they're just to make sure
that they're still good.
I can confirm they are
but I am sure they will probably
be making a reappearance.
Can you send us some?
Maybe.
I can try.
I'm not sure how well they'll keep
flying across the world
but I'll try.
You can give it a go.
Oscar we always like to
sort of do a bit of behind the scenes
in this podcast.
Little do people know
there are two
Sophies at McLaren.
They are both stood behind the camera now
and they are giving us signals
that you need to leave.
Yes that's how it works.
Stop talking about the Lamingtons.
You need to stop talking about Lamingtons
and go with the Sophies
with various Sophies
but we appreciate you coming on
and as Betty says
you will always have a
a special place in this podcast
for being our first ever interview
and we've loved following your journey.
We're excited to do it more this season.
Thank you very much.
Thanks for having me back again.
And can't wait for you to win the drivers.
Thank you.
No pressure.
June 2025.
Hello and welcome back to the Fast and the Curious.
Oscar Piastri.
Thank you.
Thanks for having me back.
It is always a pleasure to have you back Oscar.
I can only apologise for being on my own.
Greg Zitt Glastonbury
and Betty's covering football in America.
I'm not a Glastonbury type.
I can't be doing with the camping, would you be?
No. A lot of my friends at school
when I first moved over went to Glastonbury a lot.
So, yeah.
I know of a lot of people, not for me personally.
Me too.
Anyway, speaking of which, you're in Austria.
How are you?
How is Austria treating you?
I'm good.
I'm ready to go racing once again.
It's quite wet here in Austria at the moment,
but I think it's supposed to be okay for the rest of the weekend.
So, yeah, we all had 100km an hour wind warnings on our phones before.
So, it's not quite brought the paddock into a few pieces,
but it's definitely wet.
It shouldn't rain for the rest of the weekend
because I'm not there.
It usually saves raining for exclusively races I go to.
So, I should be able to help you out there.
The last time you were on, Oscar, was pre-season.
We spoke to you outside the McLaren truck at Silverstone
when you guys were doing Shakedown.
The biggest thing to come from that chat
was definitely you doing a party popper
which has turned into a meme.
Have you seen that meme?
I have, yes.
And how are you with it?
I'm fine with that.
I've had worse memes.
I mean, Austria was the scene
of probably the most memorable one,
but with the Jetpack man.
But the party popper, that was fine.
It was fine.
The Jetpack memes, brilliance, though.
That one's fun.
You can't be unhappy with that one.
That's one of my favourite memes of all time.
Yeah, I agree.
That one's one of the better ones.
There's some worse ones out there.
But hopefully I don't make too many more memes
this weekend in Austria.
Fingers crossed.
Her memes can be good or bad, I suppose.
Exactly, yeah.
Yeah, it's not all a bad thing.
If we'd have told you
when we were having that very cold chat
in February or whenever it was
that the next time we speak
you'd be leading the championship,
what do you think your reaction would have been?
Probably, I hope so,
but I don't think so in all honesty.
Not the most exciting response to that.
I don't know.
But I think at that point
I probably knew that we had a good chance
in all honesty.
But it's kind of one thing
knowing you've got a chance
and then another thing
actually putting it into reality
like we're doing.
So, yeah.
I would have thought it's optimistic thinking
but not too optimistic, so.
Does that mean you've surprised yourself
a little bit this season
and not just McLaren in the car
but obviously you personally
because looking from the outside in
it looks to me like you've again
stepped up massively over the winter.
I would say yes.
I mean I don't think it's a huge surprise
but it's nice to see that the hard work
we did and I did in the off season
is paying off.
I just want to show you a clip of something
from one of your previous episodes
appearances on the Fast and the Curious
if that's okay.
For those watching and listening to the podcast
here is the clip.
Sophie, I'll hand over to you with Oscar.
Something we used to talk about with you a lot
was the McLaren news jingle
which people have been with the podcast
with the start.
Whenever there's some McLaren news
I used to go,
McLaren news.
We often used to say to you
that one day we'll get you to do it
and as you grew in confidence in sports
that we thought we'd crack you one day
and now you're a double race winner.
You've got more confidence under your belts.
Would you be up for singing
the McLaren news jingle now?
If I become a triple race winner.
Oh!
If you're winning the triple race winner
you'll do it.
Is that deal?
I've really stitched myself up here
but sure.
I knew I was getting myself in trouble
when I did it.
And here we are.
So I'm going to assume your next question
or it's not even a question,
next demand.
Demand.
I think demand makes it sound
more forceful than this podcast
likes to be.
Like you know we're a friendly bunch
but our listeners have already
always loved McLaren news
and you know
we've always tried.
He did say it.
So Oscar, I'll give you the opportunity
to delight your hundreds of thousands
of Fast and Curious fans.
Would you like to sing the jingle?
Would I like to?
No.
But will I and will I stay true to my word?
Yes I will.
So.
This is a massive moment
in this podcast history.
Ok, this is massive.
This is huge, right?
And it proves you're a wonderful man.
I said I hopefully don't make any more
memes this weekend.
That's not last of a long note.
I was thinking that at the time.
I was thinking that.
I'll lure myself up
and I'll even count me in.
Right, I'll count you in.
Here we go.
Three, two, one.
McLaren news.
I think it's paid enough to do this.
I'm kidding, I haven't paid way too much.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Oscar's latest and last appearance
of the Fast and the Curious.
Day or night,
Virbo care is here 247
to help to make every part of your stay seamless.
If anything comes up,
I expect you to love me very much.
But you have to do what you want to do.
I'm just going to say
para ayudarte a hacer cada parte de tu estación semblante.
Si algo se puede dar, o si necesitas un poco de guía,
el apoyo está listo cuando te llegas.
Desde el momento en el libro a el momento en el hogar,
estamos aquí para ayudar a hacer cosas suavemente.
Porque un gran viaje comienza con el apoyo correcto.
Y, hey, una buena playlist no va a ser raro.

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