How Piastri isn't letting "negative impact" of emotions affect him

McLaren racer Oscar Piastri has a signature laid-back style that's almost unchanged whether he’s winning a race or retiring, but he says things can be very different under the helmet

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri says he has developed a signature laid-back style in his Formula 1 career as he worries emotions can sometimes have a “negative impact” on his racing.

From the outside, Piastri appears to be in the same mood whether he’s winning a race or retiring from one. It’s this laid-back vibe, and his excellent driving, that has won the young Australian fans up and down the paddock.

That chilled demeanour may not be the true Piastri, however, as he revealed in Saudi Arabia that he often keeps his cards close to his chest over a race weekend.

“I have been [emotional] a couple of times through my career - when they are negative emotions, yes it does have a negative impact,” Piastri said.

“I think it comes somewhat naturally being calm and trying to stay relaxed, but there's a lot of conscious effort on that as well.”

It’s not always negativity that is flooding the McLaren racer’s mind while he’s on track, however, especially after he clinched his first win of the season in China and followed it with a second victory last time out in Bahrain. Piastri now trails his team-mate, Lando Norris, by just three points and is being tipped by some as the favourite for this year’s championship fight.

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Oscar Piastri, McLaren

Photo by: Bryn Lennon - Getty Images

“There's also positive emotions that are there as well, you know,” he said.

“I said after China, if you had a camera on me that you could see my face, I was pretty damn excited.”

When it comes to letting his emotions out, Piastri revealed he doesn’t always relate how he’s really feeling to his team on the pitwall.

“The radio is a button for a reason, and you use it when you think you should,” he said.

“There's probably more that you don't see under the helmet. But, for me, that's just how I approach it.”

Piastri’s comments come just a few weeks after widespread debate in the paddock about how F1 drivers show their emotions. It came following Racing Bulls’ driver Isack Hadjar’s crash on his way to the grid at his first race in Australia.

Hadjar was criticised by Red Bull motorsport advisor Helmut Marko, before several drivers came to his defence for showing his vulnerable side.