After securing victory at the Dutch Grand Prix last year, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri appeared poised to end Alan Jones’ long-standing reign as the last Australian to claim a Formula 1 drivers’ championship. At that point, Piastri held a commanding 34-point lead over his teammate Lando Norris, with nine race weekends still to run, following a mechanical failure for Norris at Zandvoort. Although Max Verstappen was beginning to build momentum, few expected him to surpass Piastri ahead of the final race in Abu Dhabi.
Analyzing McLaren’s Strategy and Piastri’s Potential on Challenging Circuits
McLaren’s decisions concerning their drivers have attracted scrutiny, particularly around Piastri’s performance struggles on low-grip tracks where he lost a significant portion of his points. Yet, reflecting on the mindset of Alan Jones, the last Australian to claim the championship in 1980, offers valuable insights. Jones’ unique attitude toward racing, notably different from the current culture on the grid, might be key for Piastri in closing the gap to the 2026 title.
Alan Jones Attributes His Success to Maintaining Distance from Fellow Drivers
Jones shared his perspective on relationships with competitors in an interview featured in the book Drivers on Drivers. He revealed that he purposefully kept others at a distance and avoided friendships within the sport.
He stated,
“In all honesty, I used to keep everyone at arm’s length. I never went out of my way to be mates with any of them.”
Jones described himself as “very much a loner,” uncertain whether this was due to fear or reluctance to reveal too much. He recounted deliberately avoiding social situations, choosing solitude over mingling in locations like South Africa, Brazil, or Argentina.
He further explained,
“I was very self-centred. I was there to do a job, and that was it.”
Jones even went to the extent of taking separate flights when he felt racing peers might be onboard, aiming to withhold any strategic or personal insights.
He reflected,
“I just didn’t want to give anything away – even any of my personality traits. I wasn’t racing against them as personalities, I was racing against them as things – as objects.”
Jones emphasized the detachment in competition, noting,
“You’d recognise a black Lotus or a red Ferrari, and you’d know who was in it – but you never dwelled on who was in it. It was just an object that had to be passed.”
The Modern Context: How Oscar Piastri’s Situation Compares to Alan Jones’ Era
Unlike in Jones’ time, the rise of social media means Oscar Piastri cannot be as private. Though he is not the most outspoken personality on the grid, he has cultivated a large following through his dry humor and has drawn comparisons to Kimi Räikkönen for his reserved manner. Still, the contemporary pressure on F1 drivers to build personal brands limits the extent to which Piastri can adopt Jones’ isolationist approach.
Nevertheless, Piastri seems selective in his interactions, often seen traveling to races with other drivers such as George Russell and Alex Albon. Despite this, the Australian recently acknowledged uncertainty about the areas he needs to improve to become a world champion.
Jones’ advice on maintaining a detached, focused mindset could provide the foundation for Piastri’s transition from a strong contender to the eventual 2026 F1 champion.
