Australia's Oscar Piastri sets blistering pace in first official Formula 1 test
Australia's Oscar Piastri has impressed in his first official outing for the Alpine Formula 1 team, setting the third fastest time at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi.
Piastri lapped the Yas Marina circuit in 1:24.523, completing 131 laps for the day, more than twice the distance of a grand prix.
Mercedes driver Nyck de Vries was fastest in 1:23.191, with Liam Lawson second in 1:24.517 for AlphaTauri.
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Piastri lost a couple of tenths in traffic on his final hot lap, costing him second place overall. The gap to de Vries was almost identical to the gap between Mercedes and Alpine during Saturday's qualifying for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri in action for Alpine at the post-season F1 test in Abu Dhabi. Getty
The Australian has previously tested a three-year-old F1 car, but this was his maiden outing in a contemporary car.
"It was very special, first day in 2021 machinery, which was a nice step up from the 2018 F1 cars," he said.
"The run plan was very mixed, the morning we did quite a few setup items, which was nice, I feel like I got up to speed quite quickly. It's nice they trust me for that.
"In the afternoon we did some driver-based stuff, high fuel longer runs and then we ended the day with some qualifying (simulations) as well.
"We achieved a lot today."
Australia's Oscar Piastri won the Formula 2 championship. Getty
Piastri's previous F1 tests have been solo affairs, and he admits it took some adjustment to get his head around the fact new world champion Max Verstappen and fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo were sharing the track with him.
"When your engineer comes on the radio and says that Verstappen is three seconds behind you, that's pretty cool," he explained.
"It's awesome to be on the same track as people I've looked up to for a long time.
"To have two Aussies back on an F1 track together, it's been a long time since that happened."
The 20-year-old will serve as Alpine's test and reserve driver in 2022, having won the F2 championship at the weekend, to go with his F3 title in 2020 and Formula Renault Eurocup win in 2019.
He joins Charles Leclerc and George Russell as the drivers to have won both F3 and F2 as a rookie.
"It's such a massive step from F2 to F1, in every aspect," Piastri said.
"You've got a lot more power and a lot more grip and a lot more downforce. Because I've driven an F1 car a few times now I know what to expect.
"The amount of grip you have never fails to blow your mind."
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