Oscar Piastri admits preparation for the intense heat at the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend is “not for pleasure” but necessary to survive the extreme conditions.
Drivers will carry extra cooling gear after “heat hazard” rules were activated as hot weather causes disruption across Europe.
Oscar Piastri of Australia attends a news conference ahead of the Austrian F1 Grand Prix. AP Photo/Darko Bandic
It’s the first time F1’s heat rules, introduced last year, have been used for a race in Europe.
A heat hazard applies when temperatures above 31 degrees celsius are forecast for race day. It can get much hotter inside the cramped cockpits where drivers sit wearing layers of flameproof clothing. A forecast on the F1 website dated Thursday said the maximum temperature expected for Sunday’s race was 32 celsius.
The FIA declaring the heat hazard means drivers either need to use cooling equipment or carry extra weight to ensure there’s no competitive advantage from not using the equipment.
Drivers wear vests which pump cooling liquid through a network of tubes, linked to pumping equipment inside the car. Some drivers dislike wearing the equipment because they say it’s uncomfortable or distracting.
Piastri shrugged when asked about the cooling vest: “I think probably, yes, I will wear it. I used it a couple of times last year. There’s obviously the risk if it goes wrong and if it fails, then it’s worse than not wearing it.
“But if you get the system working well, then it can help a bit. It’s not a complete game-changer but when I used it last year, it was okay. There are definitely some things not perfect with it, but it’s personal preference.”
When asked how he had been preparing for the race day heat, Piastri revelead some of his tricks of the trade.
“When you’ve got no air coming in, that’s when it’s the worst. I haven’t spent any time in a sauna, but I’ve got a few portable heaters and a small bathroom and an exercise bike.
“You can cause yourself a lot of discomfort, a lot of pain by doing that. So I do that for the benefit of my performance — not for pleasure, that’s for sure.
The McLaren star, 25, said the team is confident going into the race after prior success.
“It has been a good track for us in the past, but there’s no illusion for us that we’re suddenly going to be amazing here and the team to beat,” added Piastri. “We’re definitely not going to be.
“Everybody’s coming with upgrades quickly. Ferrari took a good step forward in Barcelona, Mercedes is still the benchmark, and I’m hearing along the grapevine that Red Bull have got some big things as well. So, it’s not going to be easy for us.”
Piastri is sixth in the championship standings, while teammate Lando Norris is five points ahead in fifth position.
“We have a bit of a deficit everywhere. We don’t really have any clear strengths where we’re really strong, but we’re not terribly bad anywhere either. So in some ways that’s good, in some ways that’s bad,” said Piastri.
“The odds are definitely stacked against us, but last year was a pretty good showcase of how quickly things can change. We’ve still got a long way to go in the season.
“I don’t think we should count ourselves out. Yes, we’ve got to do a lot of hard work, yes, we’ll need a few things to go our way. But we’ve seen reliability issues for everybody across the board and things can change very quickly.
“If we can improve things dramatically like we have done in the last few seasons, then I think anything is still possible.”