Oscar Piastri has admitted that he’s incredibly “self-critical” of himself but doesn’t see the point in “destroying” himself whilst speaking to the media.
Piastri and teammate Lando Norris got on very well in 2023, although what was immediately very clear is how differently they go about their business.
The Australian driver rarely spoke badly about himself when talking to the media, whereas Norris had a tendency to rip into his driving on camera.
It’s not just when speaking to the media that Norris tended to be publicly very critical of himself, as he had a habit of speaking negatively about his performances over the team radio last season.
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Norris’ negative views on himself commonly occurred after qualifying sessions, with Qatar being one venue where he was frustrated for not putting a strong lap together, given that the Woking-based team were particularly strong at the Losail International Circuit.
Piastri didn’t do this, with him clearly preferring to keep his thoughts on his performances behind closed-doors, rather than instead of cameras and journalists.
The former F3 and F2 Champion opted against becoming “upset or emotional” over the radio, with his priority being finding answers to problems.
His maturity was evident in his rookie season, as was ability to “keep a clear mind”.
He admits that there were, of course, “some difficult races” during his debut season but that he’d rather solve the problems instead of “get upset about them”.
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“I would say I’m very self-critical,” Piastri told Motorsport.com. “For me, there’s just no 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, 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.
“It’s much better to try and fix things that you can control than just get upset about them. So, that’s always been my way of trying to tackle these things and just trying to keep a clear mind.”