22-year-old F1 driver says his driving style is more similar to Alain Prost than Ayrton Senna

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri believes that his driving style is more similar to Alain Prost’s compared to Ayrton Senna.

The two legendary drivers won seven world championships between them, five of which were while they were driving for McLaren.

Speaking to Speedcafe, Piastri responded when asked who he was more similar to when driving a Formula 1 car.

Piastri admits he’s more like Prost than Senna

Oscar Piastri is quickly becoming one of the most exciting drivers on the F1 grid.

His style isn’t to attempt huge overtakes and risk his entire race jump to make up one position.

Instead, he makes sure that he sets the best time possible in qualifying with his smooth driving style.

While Lando Norris might be quicker in qualifying if he hooks up the perfect lap, too often he makes a mistake.

This has led to Piastri out-qualifying him more often than maybe he should and although his race pace was a weak point last season, at this early stage he’s outscored his more experienced teammate.

Piastri aspires to emulate Prost and Senna during his time with McLaren and believes he’s more similar to the Frenchman.

Prost was well-known for his smooth style and Piastri’s short corner driving approach makes him a phenomenal prospect.

His Brazilian teammate was much more aggressive and although he won one less championship than Senna, that might be why he’s so fondly remembered by racing fans.

Piastri asked to compare himself to two F1 greats

Asked whether his driving style was more similar to Senna or Prost’s, Piastri said: “I would say much, much close to Prost in that side of things.

“I think with the amount of downforce we have on the cars these days, I think you have to drive them quite straight.

“And with the tyres we have as well, they just don’t like being sideways, so you have to always adapt to what you’ve got around you.

“For me, that’s how I tried to look at my driving style. I think I have a natural way of driving a car, let’s say, but I feel like one of my strengths is being able to adapt to different cars quite quickly.”

Piastri is not just improving as a driver but also appears to be maturing off the track.

It’s easy to forget that he’s still 22 years old and has a huge future ahead of him.

Whether he can achieve his goals in the current McLaren is yet to be seen, but they might have a stronger package when the regulations change in 2026.

If they don’t, then the Australian might be looking around the grid to see if he can secure a seat in a championship-challenging car.