– With nine Grand Prix victories to his name, Oscar Piastri is one of the most successful drivers in the 2026 Formula 1 field. Only five other active drivers have more wins than the Australian. It is all the more surprising, then, how satisfied he was recently with P2 at the Japanese Grand Prix in Suzuka.
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In the High Performance podcast, he explains: “If you look at it in the history books in ten years, it will say: ‘Okay, I finished second and had already won nine Formula 1 races at that point.'”
“But honestly, I would probably rank this second place higher on my list of personal achievements than about 50 percent of the wins I’ve achieved so far,” says Piastri, who explains: “I know I got everything out of myself this weekend.”
“In practice, I got the maximum out of myself. In qualifying, I came very close to the maximum. In the race, I got the maximum out of myself, and we were fast enough to take second place,” explains Piastri, emphasizing: “That was all we had.”
It doesn’t matter to the 25-year-old that it wasn’t enough for a race win in the end. “Nevertheless, the history books will show that I was beaten by 15 seconds. But that’s exactly what’s special about our sport,” he explains.
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Photo gallery: The first Grand Prix victories of current Formula 1 drivers
“That’s exactly why you have to be very disciplined and focus on the right things, because I went home happier this weekend than after probably half of the races I’ve won in my career,” he reveals.
“For me, that’s a really big, important factor: making sure you go home every weekend feeling like you’ve given absolutely everything, regardless of whether you won the race, finished tenth, or even just fifteenth,” says Piastri.
“As long as I feel at the end of the weekend that I’ve done everything in my power, that’s enough for me,” explains the McLaren driver, who ultimately saw the checkered flag in Suzuka 13.7 seconds behind winner Kimi Antonelli in the Mercedes.
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Piastri has been competing in Formula 1 for McLaren since 2023 and secured his first sprint victory in Qatar in his rookie season in the premier class. His first two Grand Prix victories followed in 2024, before he led the World Championship for a long time in 2025 and ultimately finished third in the World Championship.
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