A radio communication from Oscar Piastri captured attention during Friday’s practice session at the Singapore Grand Prix, quickly spreading across social media and among Formula 1 enthusiasts. The McLaren driver’s playful remark regarding a cockpit control happened live at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, highlighting the challenges faced by drivers in the intense heat and humidity of the event.
Piastri’s humorous radio exchange during FP2 draws a reaction
During the second practice session, Piastri contacted his team about a difficulty he was encountering with a control on his steering wheel. He began,
“Before I forget, the cooling system knob is quite hard to turn,”
drawing attention to the stiffness of a crucial cockpit adjustment. Adding a lighthearted comment, he continued,
“I was gonna say the knob is quite stiff, but didn’t think that would be appropriate for TV,”
to which his race engineer, Tom Stallard, replied with dry humor. Unaware at the time of the viral potential, Piastri then joked,
“I’m sure they won’t have picked that up.”
Heat conditions impact driver equipment and race preparations
The Singapore GP is notorious for its oppressive heat, which was officially classified as a ‘heat hazard’ by race officials. Amid such conditions, many drivers have relied on cooling vests designed to help manage their body temperature, though these vests have proven somewhat unreliable. Drivers not using personal cooling systems must compensate by adding 0.5kg of ballast inside the cockpit, as mandated by FIA regulations detailed in Article 26.19. This rule also stipulates that all other cooling components must remain installed even if the personal equipment is omitted.
Any driver may elect not to wear any items of personal equipment that form part of the Driver Cooling System,
states the FIA regulation.
In such circumstance, all other components, including any cooling medium, of the Driver Cooling System must be fitted.
In addition, the difference in mass between the driver’s personal equipment normally used and any items of a driver’s personal equipment that form part of the system must be compensated by the fitting of 0.5kg of ballast in the cockpit.
Piastri’s performance and outlook after practice sessions
Despite the challenging conditions and the minor frustrations highlighted over the radio, Piastri concluded Friday’s track time with a sense of progress and understanding. He stated,
I think I found my feet on the medium at the end there, and then, soft felt good. Obviously, not much representative kind of race running, but the car’s been in a good place. I feel like I’ve learned a lot through today, and that’s the aim of practice. So it’s been a good day.
The feedback from Piastri reflects cautious optimism as McLaren continues to refine their setup at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, preparing for a demanding race weekend where handling heat and maintaining driver comfort remain significant concerns.
With Piastri’s message capturing widespread attention, the incident sheds light on the small but critical elements drivers must manage during a race weekend and highlights the unique atmosphere and challenges of the Singapore GP under artificial lighting and intense tropical conditions.
