Oscar Piastri’s sledge for England cricket team after record-breaking season without F1 title
Oscar Piastri’s F1 championship dreams may have crumbled – but there is a silver lining heading into 2026, and it involves his plans for his return home to Australia.
England’s pathetic display in the first two Ashes cricket tests have left Aussie Formula One star Oscar Piastri in a spin.
Piastri is a big cricket fan and loves nothing more than reminding the English that their team is being absolutely belted in the Ashes.
This includes his F1 team mate and newly crowned world champion Lando Norris, as well as all the other Poms at McLaren.
Despite preparing for the biggest race of his life at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Piastri took great delight in seeing Australia clinch the second Test at the Gabba by eight wickets before he was due to hop in his car at the Yas Marina circuit.
But he also admitted he was in a bind because he had secretly hoped the English would put up more of a fight because he’s coming home to Melbourne for Christmas and planning to attend the fourth Test at the MCG.
“It was nice that the boys could wrap it up before the race started,” Piastri said.
“Hopefully, I will get to some cricket — ideally Boxing Day, given it’s in Melbourne.
“There’s part of me that kind of wants the series to still be alive by that point, and part of me that really doesn’t.
“I’ll take whatever we can get but it’s been enjoyable to watch for the last couple of weeks.”
Like all the drivers, Piastri is looking forward to a break after completing an intense season that began at Melbourne’s Albert Park in March.
With just 13 weeks to go before the 2026 F1 season roars into action in his hometown, he’s planning to come home and enjoy some simpler pleasures that have nothing to do with race cars.
“It’s nice having another summer break. I’m going back to Australia for a little bit, see my family and friends, give my annual hellos and goodbyes,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to some time away from racing, to be honest. It’s been a long, demanding season.
“As enjoyable as driving the fastest cars in the world is, a break now and again is always a nice thing.
“I’m just looking forward to not thinking about race cars and spending time with people around me. Obviously, the new season is not far away, so it’s going to be important to enjoy that time off and then come back refreshed with the new challenges for next year.”
THE CHANGES PIASTRI WILL MAKE TO BOUNCE BACK FROM HEARTBREAK
Even in his deepest despair, Australian Formula One star Oscar Piastri could still see a silver lining, vowing to bounce back stronger than ever after missing out on the world title.
After leading the world championship by 34 points two-thirds of the way through the season, Piastri was crestfallen not to come away with the title, eventually finishing third in the standings behind his McLaren teammate Lando Norris and Red Bull’s Max Verstappen.
Much of Piastri’s downfall can be traced back to rotten luck but some was also the direct result of mistakes he made along the way, which he’s smart and mature enough to recognise.
“I definitely can be very proud of the season I’ve had. When I look at this season compared to my first two years in F1, this year has been head and shoulders above the first two,” Piastri said.
“Ultimately, while the end result is not quite what I wanted, there’s a lot of optimism and a lot of strength that I’ve gained from proving to myself what I can achieve through this season.
“Those are the kinds of things that are not necessarily tied to results. So I think for me, I can definitely take that forward into the future.
“It’s only my third attempt at this in F1. Hopefully, I’ve got plenty more to go, but there are definitely lessons from this year that will only make me stronger.”
Still only 24, Piastri’s numbers in 2025 were off the charts. He won seven Grands Prix, made the podium 16 times, set six pole positions and finished with 410 points – all records by an Australian F1 driver.
He also led the championship for 15 rounds and impressively maintained his composure and concentration amid speculation his McLaren team was favouring his teammate Norris.
”I would have wished for a slightly different ending, but I think this year I’ve learned a hell of a lot about myself as a race car driver and myself as a person,” Piastri said.
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“I think if you had presented this season at the start of the year with the pole positions and the wins and the podiums, I definitely would have been pretty happy with that.
“Even in the tough moments, I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I can be stronger in the future. Ultimately, there’s a little bit of disappointment, obviously, but I think I can be very proud of the season I’ve had and plenty of lessons to take to the future.”
Trying to pinpoint how the championship slipped away from him is a fraught exercise because there were so many varied things that happened to him.
He crashed a number of times, incurred the wrath of the stewards on two occasions, and was disqualified from a race. But he also lost out on a win because his strategists made a monumental error with their pit stops, was told to hand back a position to Norris then lost a podium when his English teammate sideswiped him.
Stoic to the end, he acknowledged that he didn’t drive as well as his could have on the low-grip tracks in North and South America, and did not handle the other distractions as well as would have liked.
“There’ve definitely been lessons directly to do with how I drive the car, how I can be better in different conditions, and just become a better all-round driver,” he said.
“There have also been lessons outside the car — dealing with adversity, dealing with difficult moments. I’ve learned a lot about myself in those kinds of things. So, there have been lessons both in and out of the car that will definitely help me for the future.”
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