McLaren’s Oscar Piastri feels there’s ‘not any point’ in trait Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc shows

Follow us on Google Discover

McLaren driver Oscar Piastri believes there is ‘not any point’ in being extremely self-critical in front of the media, a trait which Ferrari ace Charles Leclerc is notorious for.

Public flareups have been an often sight throughout Leclerc’s time on the Formula 1 grid. He holds himself to tremendously high standards and will pull any mistakes apart. But Piastri is of the belief that self-questioning should be in private as public outbursts give zero benefits.

Leclerc infamously groaned ‘I am stupid, I am stupid’ over Ferrari’s team radio after crashing in qualifying for the 2019 Azerbaijan GP. He had set the fastest lap time in Q1 but went deep at Turn 8 during Q2. The 26-year-old buried his SF90 in the barrier to end his session early.

Oscar Piastri believes there is ‘not any point’ in public self-criticism

Another crash in qualifying, this time in Q3 at the 2023 Miami GP, even saw Leclerc admit it was ‘not acceptable’ after the session. He made the same ‘mistake’ at the same corner that saw the Monegasque crash in practice. Leclerc span at high speed at T7 in his last run of Q3.

While Piastri and McLaren teammate Lando Norris overtaking Leclerc, who also had a three-place grid drop for impeding Piastri in the Sprint Shootout, in the Sprint at the 2023 Austrian GP saw the Ferrari pilot say: “Of myself, for sure, I am disappointed… I haven’t been strong.”

But Piastri does not believe lamenting your performances in front of the F1 media offers any positives. So, the McLaren star prefers to wait until he is behind closed doors before the 22-year-old will pull his performances apart. That is why he is also against venting on the radio.

“I would say I’m very self-critical,” Piastri told Autosport. “For me, there’s just not any point – especially in self-deprecation – destroying yourself in front of the media. If you want to do that on your own, then sure.

“For me, just trying to find answers to things is the most important thing. There’s been some difficult sessions [and] some difficult races. But, and I think this also comes across in my radio, there’s no point getting upset or emotional about things you can’t control.”

The McLaren driver rued his ‘many mistakes’ in the 2023 F1 season

Piastri would have been forgiven for letting the emotions get the better of him after retiring on his Formula 1 debut with McLaren at the 2023 Bahrain GP. An electrical problem brought his Grand Prix debut to a halt after 13 laps. Yet the worst he called it in public was ‘a shame’.

His comments were marginally stronger after qualifying, though, claiming ‘I made too many mistakes’ in Q1. The 2020 F3 and 2021 F2 champion also lamented making ‘a few too many mistakes’ at the mid-season stage. Piastri also said ‘a lot of mistakes’ denied him a chance at pole for the Abu Dhabi GP. But his self-criticism is extremely tame compared to Leclerc’s.