In the round-up: Oscar Piastri says he would have preferred being able to race during 2022 instead of spending a year as a reserve driver. After winning junior championships in three consecutive seasons, culminating in the 2021 Formula 2 title, Piastri spent 2022 as Alpine’s reserve driver, before grabbing the chance to race for McLaren in 2023. He said he would have been better off racing in 2022, rather than testing.
“Racing would have been better,” he told Auto Motor und Sport . “There is no environment in which you can prepare better. “In my test year, I mainly learned a lot about the world of Formula 1 outside the cockpit, more than I expected.
I understood that you can quickly get caught up in the wheels. But also useful things about how to mentally prepare for the races. I was at all the meetings at Alpine.
“I saw that in terms of mental attitude, it cannot be compared to the junior classes. It is a different playing field when the development of the car is added to that. In Formula 3 or 2, you have to work with the car that is given to you.
Absorbing that without the pressure of having to race at the same time was certainly valuable. “But if I had the choice again today, I would have preferred to continue straight after Formula 2.” Advert | Become a Supporter & go ad-free F1’s official tyre supplier will continue its development work at Mugello in Italy on Tuesday and Wednesday next week.
Red Bull and Ferrari will continue the 2025 tyre programme whi.