Oscar Piastri weighs in as F1 title debate reaches Australian government

Oscar Piastri has stated it was “pretty cool” to have his name discussed in the Australian Parliament following a disastrous Qatar Grand Prix.

Piastri missed out on a crucial race win in Lusail last weekend following a botched strategy call by McLaren and was forced to settle for second place.

It left Australian politicians debating the matter in Parliament, questioning if McLaren is “biased” towards Piastri's team-mate Lando Norris - albeit in a lighthearted discussion.

Piastri admitted it was impressive to see F1 discussed at such a scale as he hailed the support he has been receiving from his home country.

“I did see it reach Parliament,” Piastri told media including RacingNews365. “Yeah, that’s quite impressive. 

“I think the support from back home has been really special. I obviously don’t see a huge amount of it. 

“I’ve not been back to Australia since the grand prix but I think the fact that Formula 1 and regardless of why it was in Parliament, the fact that my name is in Parliament in Australia is pretty cool in some ways. 

“A pretty cool thing. And I guess it signifies the magnitude of the support and the following that we've had back home. 

“So that's very, very cool to see, and I’ll try my best to bring it home for everyone.”

Piastri enters the Abu Dhabi finale third in the standings, behind Lando Norris and Max Verstappen.

It was pointed out to the McLaren driver that on the previous two occasions that saw three or more drivers enter the last race in contention for the final, it was the driver third in the standings who came out on top (Kimi Raikkonen in 2007, Sebastian Vettel in 2012).

Reacting to the strong omen, Piastri said: “Nice stat to have, given that I’m in that position.

“But just because history has gone that way once doesn’t mean it will again. 

“So, I’m certainly not leaning on that, but maybe it gives me the tiniest amount of comfort that it is possible.”