Piastri F1 column: My season starts to heat up

There are seven flyaway races left on this year’s F1 calendar starting with Singapore, which is always an amazing atmosphere.

It’s a race that a lot of Aussies travel to which is cool as it is still a decent journey away from home.

The night race element is something that I also love as the track looks pretty special under the lights.

Last year, I enjoyed my first Grand Prix there climbing ten places in the race and got the experience of taking on the heat and humidity that Singapore brings.

It certainly is a test when you’re sat in the cockpit. You can lose several kilos of fluid over the race and it is so important to get physical preparation right in advance of the event and also as far back as pre-season.

With Azerbaijan and Singapore back-to-back, there is no time for much meaningful training when you factor in travel and acclimatisation. 

Therefore, all the hard work is done further back with races like this in mind.

I think the first race at Marina Bay was when I was a seven-year-old and I can remember thinking how cool it looked as the very-first F1 night race so it’s a special feeling to now be racing at it in Formula 1.

I’ll have a special helmet design for this one which I’m looking forward to revealing and hope it goes down well. I’ve been happy with my special designs this season and I’m glad that the ones for Melbourne, Miami and Monaco have all been pretty popular.

After Singapore, we have a bit of a break before the triple-header across Austin, Mexico City and Sao Paulo so that will be a good opportunity to prepare for the run-in.

Last year after Singapore, we were straight off to Japan and had Qatar not long after so there is quite a bit of difference to the scheduling compared to 2023.

I don’t have too much planned for the break but that’s the beauty of the gaps in the calendar that can give you a breather and allow you to recharge. The length of the calendar means that you have to get the rest when you can. I’ll be having a few games of padel and getting out on the bike to keep things ticking over.

It was a successful part of the season for me over in Europe with some good results at races like Monaco, Austria, Budapest, Spa and Monza and I’ll be working hard to keep that good run of form going and replicate that as we move to the flyaway races.

The car feels great, and the team have done an awesome job back at MTC. It’s a great feeling knowing that you have a car capable of competing at different types of circuits, which I think we have proven.

I am working hard on and off track to keep improving and adding to my craft and I am looking forward to the last part of the season.

Thanks as ever for all support which I am always really grateful for.

Take care. OP

Piastri’s F1 column as published in Auto Action magazine issue 1895 on sale September 19 2024.

Head to Oscar’s official website for the latest news and his new range of merchandise store.oscarpiastri.com 

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