Australian Oscar Piastri returns to Monaco where he has stood on the podium before.
The McLaren rookie twice stood on the podium in the principality in 2021, on his way to winning the Formula 2 drivers’ championship.
He returns to the famous street circuit as a Formula 1 driver and says preparation for his first Monaco Grand Prix has gone well.
Despite some promising performances, Piastri has only been able to finish in a points-scoring position once this year.
But the 22-year-old from Melbourne says he is growing in confidence.
“Preparation for the race has gone well with plenty of simulator work and I’m learning more and more in every session behind the wheel,” he said.
“As a team, we are fully focused on making the steps forward to develop more performance out of the car.”
Piastri’s 2021 performance around Monaco in his F2 car set him up for a charge at the championship.
Across the three races F2 held that weekend, Piastri finished second twice and eighth.
It was a solid haul of points for the Australian, who was on the verge of winning his third consecutive championship, after winning Formula 3 and Formula Renault in 2020 and 2019.
“I’m looking forward to this weekend’s race as I return to Monaco for the first time since my double podium during the 2021 F2 Championship,’ he said.
“It will be an interesting and enjoyable challenge to tackle the Monte Carlo circuit in an F1 car.”
McLaren will be running a special livery for the Monaco Grand Prix. (ABC)