Race winner Oscar Piastri has confessed that his cool, calm, and collected persona is the result of conscious effort, a coping mechanism of sorts from his early days in Europe.<\/p>\n
The Australian developed a reputation for being unflappable during the early stages of his F1 career, backed by a somewhat unemotional and restrained demeanour, even over team radio during the heat of battle.<\/p>\n
Oscar Piastri admits current persona a coping mechanism<\/p>\n
Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google<\/a> to your favourites list for news you can trust.<\/p>\n In many ways, it\u2019s an act. A caricature of the true Oscar Piastri who, away from the spotlight cast upon him by F1, is sharp-witted and personable.<\/p>\n But a childhood spent learning life lessons in Europe, half a world away from his family, saw the Melburnian develop something of a front; a means of coping with the sacrifices necessary to make a career in Formula 1 from Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been conscious effort not being too fired up and getting too emotional, but also having some emotion and some passion in there,\u201d Piastri admitted in the latest episode of Off The Grid.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not to say he is apathetic. \u201cObviously, if you don\u2019t care, then not much good is going to happen either,\u201d he reasoned.<\/p>\n \u201cJust finding that sweet spot has been a learning experience.<\/p>\n \u201cPart of that comes from, I guess, how I\u2019ve grown up, especially once I moved to Europe.<\/p>\n \u201cI learned a lot of life lessons and how to get around in life by myself.\u201d<\/p>\n Piastri made the move from Australia to the UK aged just 14. For the first six months, he lived with his dad, who then returned to Australia, while Piastri Jnr moved into a boarding house \u2013 it was that or give up on his childhood dream.<\/p>\n \u201cI was enjoying my time racing in Europe and racing against the best guys in the world, and I felt it would have been a shame to go back,\u201d Piastri said.<\/p>\n \u201cI was obviously sad to be moving away from home, but I was also excited to go and try and chase my dream, and going to Europe is definitely the best way of trying to achieve that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was kind of simple in some ways. This is how I achieved my dream. So I kind of had to remove the emotion of what I was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n There were pangs of homesickness but were quickly put in perspective against the bigger picture he was chasing; a career in Formula 1.<\/p>\n That meant living away from home, in a boarding school, and developing a degree of emotional separation.<\/p>\n \u201cI wasn\u2019t so keen on the idea,\u201d Piastri admitted of boarding school. \u201c[It] was more one of those things where, you know, I\u2019ve got to suck it up if this is what I want.<\/p>\n \u201cBut actually, when I got there, in some ways, it was kind of like living with friends, which was nice and kind of also allowed you to take your mind off of racing.\u201d<\/p>\n It was while at school that he met his partner, Lily, who has remained a constant in his life as it has accelerated up the motorsport ladder.<\/p>\n \u201cLily\u2019s been a great addition by my side,\u201d Piastri said.<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s been there right from the beginning, which has been really nice as well.<\/p>\n \u201cFor her to grow up with me in this crazy world that we\u2019re in just been really nice to have.\u201d<\/p>\n More on Oscar Piastri<\/p>\n Brundle claims Oscar Piastri \u2018misread\u2019 after Norris title defeat<\/a><\/p>\n Oscar Piastri pushed Norris harder than Daniel Ricciardo and Carlos Sainz ever could<\/a><\/p>\n Piastri is now increasingly recognised no matter where in the world he goes. While growing into his new-found fame, it remains unfamiliar and uncomfortable to an extent.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a lot more normal than it was 12 months ago or 24 months ago, but it is still a little bit strange,\u201d Piastri said.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, at the track, you expect the attention, but you know, there has been times where you kind of go in the supermarket or whatever, out of nowhere, someone\u2019s asking for a photo or an autograph or whatever, or even just asking, \u2018Is that really you?\u2019<\/p>\n \u201cFor me, it\u2019s always interesting when I\u2019m around people like my friends, that don\u2019t come to many races, it\u2019s always funny for me, seeing the reaction from them.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re like, you\u2019ve been spotted so many times. Yeah, it comes with the territory.\u201d<\/p>\n To Piastri, fame is reluctantly accepted, in many ways akin to his time at boarding school; an element that is essential but not central to his broader ambition.<\/p>\n And to deal with it, he\u2019s using the same skills he developed all those years ago.<\/p>\n He has taken a step back emotionally, and presents a cool and calm persona.<\/p>\n A survival skill developed to help him through the trials of youth and the junior formulae, has today has become something of his public character.<\/p>\n You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel<\/a> for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a> to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n