As the Ashes test kicked off with a narrow victory for the Australians, fellow Aussie Oscar Piastri has shared his love for the sport by visiting the team ahead of the second test at Lords.
Interestingly, the driver took the nets to face a series of balls, flaunting his talent which dates back to his days playing for Brighton Cricket Club and West Bentleigh Cricket Club as a junior in Melbourne.
The F1 rookie appeared to be elated by the experience.
“Great to watch them getting ready for the second test,” Piastri told Sky Sports.
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“Lucky enough to face a few balls from Nathan Lyon and Mitch Starc, so it’s been a really cool day seeing the guys at the top of their game.
“The astroturf was not exactly favourable for Gaz (Lyon) on the spin, and Mitch was coming off about half a step, I reckon.
“But very, very cool to have those guys come in.
“I think normally I’d be terrified but, in those circumstances, very, very cool.”
Piastri posted on social media sharing a picture of the former Australian captain and certified legend Ricky Ponting.
“It’s been a full-circle moment I guess in some ways,” Piastri claimed.
“Nice to see him again and actually be able to speak about stuff this time, not just say ‘hi’ and be in awe.
“Very, very cool moment for me to be here with all the Aussies, but especially Ricky as well – he was someone I looked up to when I was a little kid playing cricket.
“Of course, that photo is now, I guess, a bit more famous!”
Oscar Piastri and the state of play at McLaren
Piastri made his debut in Formula 1 this year having joined Lando Norris at McLaren.
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The debutant boasts an F2 and F3 championship title and has scored 5 points so far this season with his best result coming in his homeland at the Australian Grand Prix with an 8th-place finish.
The 22-year-old sits 14th in the driver’s standings, three places behind teammate Lando Norris.
McLaren have endured a difficult start to the 2023 season and look lightyears off the top three, having only scored a combined tally of 17 points, leaving them 6th in the constructors’ championship.