Griddy with delight: Oscar Piastri doesn’t miss a beat at Miami … except one

Oscar Piastri had a sobering thought after winning the Miami Grand Prix. He had to do a celebration dance called the Griddy. Normally he wouldn’t do it in a pink fit, but he was on a promise.

Race winner Oscar Piastri, left, and second-placed Lando Norris celebrate on the podium at the Formula One Grand Prix in Miami. Picture: Getty Images

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Oscar Piastri met Justin Jefferson before the Miami Grand Prix. The NFL celebrity taught Piastri a touchdown celebration called the Griddy. Being a polite young bloke, Australia’s bashful superstar told Jefferson he would perform the lighthearted, fleet-footed, showboating dance if he won the Formula One race.

In the headiness of Piastri’s exquisite triumph, which kept the 24-year-old Melburnian atop the world championship rankings, ever closer to becoming Australia’s first F1 world champion since Alan Jones in 1980, he had a sobering thought. He had to do a Griddy, as promised, hamming it up for a global TV audience in the tens of millions.

Now Piastri is a shy, sensible, understated and good-natured soul who normally wouldn’t do a Griddy in a pink fit. Australia’s ex-F1 racer Daniel Ricciardo was extroverted enough to do shoeys after his wins, guzzling beer and or/champagne from his racing boots, but Piastri prefers to let his driving do his talking, drinking and dancing. He ventured into a couple of half-hearted kicks, swinging his arms like a guy on the dance floor of a family wedding who really doesn’t want to be there. He raised a hand in self-conscious defeat.

His Griddy was so bad it was great. Jefferson’s versions are fantastically fun and expressive. We would have seen the true red-faced extent of Piastri’s embarrassment if not for the pesky presence of his oversized helmet. All in good fun after the serious business of Piastri’s third straight F1 triumph of the season. “So yeah, that was my first attempt at a Griddy, live on world TV,” he grinned. “I stayed true to the bet – but that’s the one and only time you’ll be seeing me do that.”

The Griddy was started by an American high school player called Allen “Griddy” Davis. Jefferson made it famous via the Minnesota Vikings. Piastri’s endearingly awkward attempt went viral, prompting the Vikings, once they’d stopped rolling down the aisles, to write on social media, “Oscarrrrrr! Let’s Gooooo!”

Piastri’s victory was F1 perfection. He snuck past Red Bull’s Max Verstappen as if he was doing a shimmy-shimmy-shake. He was calm and composed under the most intense pressure. His temperament is unflappable. In the words of another great car lover, Dale Kerrigan from The Castle, “How’s the serenity? So much serenity.”

Piastri started fourth on the griddy, sorry, the grid, before producing the ultimate Sunday drive to beat McLaren teammate Lando Norris and Mercedes’ ­George Russell. He leads the drivers’ championship by 16 points from Norris. Each race is worth 25 points. The next fast and furious contest is Italy’s Emilia Romagna GP on May 18.

Oscarrrrrr! Let’s Gooooo! “It’s a great feeling to have won,” Piastri said. “It was a race I really wanted to win. The car was unbelievable and we were able to use our pace advantage. An incredible amount of hard work has gone into getting us to where we are. As always, there’s a lot of learnings to take away from the weekend but I’m very, very happy to be leaving Miami on top.”