Formula 1

Piastri keen to 'get stuck in' at debut F1 race in Bahrain

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Oscar Piastri aims to "get stuck in" as he prepares to make his Formula 1 debut this weekend at the Bahrain Grand Prix.

The moment is a long time coming for the Australian, who spent last year on the sidelines at Alpine after winning the F2 championship in 2021.

Unfortunately for Piastri, however, he could face a difficult start to the season after McLaren endured a troubled three-day test last week.

Even so, asked about his aims in Bahrain, the 21-year-old said: “Hopefully a good result.

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“I don’t really know yet. But yeah, I mean, for me personally, just try and learn as much as I can, get some good results, then that would be a bonus.

“But yeah, just go out and enjoy it, enjoy my first race for over a year and have some fun and get stuck in.”

More broadly, Piastri is keen to use this season to get settled into the role of F1 driver, hoping that will quickly yield results.

“My ’23 goal is to learn as much as I can,” he stated.

“I think there’s a lot to learn in the world of F1 and I think, putting results aside, I think as long as I’m following everything as well as I can and learning as much as I can and doing everything in the correct way, then I think the results will come naturally.

“So do everything the right way, start off on the right foot, and make sure I have some fun too.”

Piastri's entrance into F1 certainly hasn't been a quiet one after he was thrust into the spotlight last summer in the middle of a spat between Alpine and McLaren.

Initially, the Enstone team announced Oscar as Fernando Alonso's replacement for this season only for him to sensationally reject signing a contract via Twitter.

That's because Piastri already had an agreement with McLaren for 2023 to replace fellow countryman Daniel Ricciardo, which the Contract Recognition Board later ruled to be valid.

Piastri though doesn't think that controversy adds any pressure on him to deliver at the Woking-based team.

“I don’t think so, no,” he told PlanetF1. “I think for me, my objectives and sort of goals for myself haven’t changed in any way.

"I think, regardless of how that ended last year, I think there’s probably an outside expectation with the junior career that I’ve had as well.

“So I think there’s a bit of expectation from a few angles, but I don’t think that [the Alpine fallout] adds to it.”

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