Oscar Piastri must listen to Alan Jones’ ‘loner’ advice to become 2026 Formula 1 world champion

Alan Jones would have wondered after McLaren driver Oscar Piastri won the Dutch Grand Prix last year if his record as the last Australian to win the Formula 1 drivers’ championship was about to come to an end.

Oscar Piastri opened up a 34-point lead over Lando Norris with nine race weekends remaining after the British driver’s car failed on the side of the track at Zandvoort.

Max Verstappen was a distant threat just starting to build some momentum at the time, but very few people would have believed that he would be ahead of Piastri going into the final race in Abu Dhabi.

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Much has been made of McLaren’s decision-making between both of their drivers, and the suggestion that Piastri might have trouble on low-grip circuits, where he dropped the majority of his points.

However, the last Australian driver to achieve that feat, Alan Jones, had an attitude towards racing in Formula 1 that’s very different to how those on the grid today act.

The key to Piastri getting over the line in 2026 might come down to listening to how Jones approached Formula 1 when he went on to win the 1980 title.

Alan Jones, Grand Prix Of France winner in 1980 — Photo by Paul-Henri Cahier/Getty Images

Alan Jones says being a ‘loner’ was the key to his Formula 1 success

In an interview that featured in the Drivers on Drivers book, Jones spoke about his attitude to being close to his fellow racers.

He explained: “In all honesty, I used to keep everyone at arm’s length. I never went out of my way to be mates with any of them.

“I was very much a loner. I don’t know if it was out of fear or giving something away – I don’t know what it was.

“I’d never go down to the swimming pool in South Africa, or Brazil, or Argentina and lounge around with everyone else.

“I’d more than likely just stay in my room. I was very self-centred. I was there to do a job, and that was it.

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri adjusting his helmet at the 2025 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix — Photo by Bryn Lennon – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

“I actually used to hate staying at the same hotel as the guys I had to beat. It even got to the point of taking different flights if I felt there would be too many racing people on the flight I originally wanted.

“I just didn’t want to give anything away – even any of my personality traits. I wasn’t racing against them as personalities, I was racing against them as things – as objects.

“You’d recognise a black Lotus or a red Ferrari, and you’d know who was in it – but you never dwelled on who was in it. It was just an object that had to be passed.”

How Oscar Piastri’s Formula 1 situation differs from Alan Jones

In the age of social media, Piastri is arguably one of the more shielded drivers on the grid.

He’s not the biggest personality, but the Australian has grown a huge fanbase as a result of his deadpan sense of humour, and Piastri has even been compared to Kimi Raikkonen as a result.

However, even though he’s not the loudest driver on the grid, the requirement for any F1 driver to build a brand means he can’t be as private as Jones was in the 1970s and 80s.

That doesn’t mean that he can’t follow some of his advice; Piastri regularly spotted travelling to races alongside the likes of George Russell and Alex Albon.

Piastri recently admitted he wasn’t sure what he needed to improve to become a world champion.

Jones’ advice might be the start of how he goes from a title contender to winning his first championship.