Oscar Piastri has dismissed concerns that close friendships between Formula 1 drivers could blunt their competitive edge on track. The McLaren driver spoke casually after a boys' trip to Langkawi Island, Malaysia, between the Azerbaijan and Bahrain Grands Prix.
The topic arose after McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown wrote in his book that he prefers drivers not to be friends, suggesting off-track camaraderie can make them reluctant to race each other aggressively. Piastri disagrees.
"It was good fun just being able to switch off from racing a bit. It's very rare that you get so many drivers together, just spending time together away from a racetrack," Piastri said at Sepang International Circuit on Friday ahead of the Bahrain GP. "And at the end of the day, we're 22 guys that love racing. Obviously, it's a bit tricky to talk about certain things because we are racing each other. We've got a lot in common that we just never really get to talk about. So it was quite nice."
The getaway included several big names: Piastri and Lando Norris from McLaren, George Russell (Mercedes), Oliver Bearman (Haas), Gabriel Bortoleto (Audi), and Williams duo Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz. Russell first shared updates on Instagram, and the post quickly surpassed 950,000 likes by the time of writing.
The comments section was equally lively. Fans dubbed it rare "Landoscar content" and hoped Netflix would feature it in Drive to Survive. Piastri himself left a light-hearted comment: "Cheers for picking up the bill." Russell later clarified that most bills went on his tab.
When asked if Brown had contacted him about the trip, Piastri replied briefly, "No, he hasn't. It was pretty last-minute." That answer seemed to underline that drivers still have personal space away from team matters.
This break served as an oasis amid the hectic 2026 F1 calendar. Piastri admitted that while they remain fierce competitors on track, such moments of togetherness are rare. "We all did our own separate things at points and whatever; it wasn't like we were attached to each other for the whole time, but maybe on the go-kart track we were. No, it was good fun, honestly, and I enjoyed it," he added.
Piastri's stance at least addresses Brown's concerns. For him, friendship doesn't mean easing off. On the contrary, he remains as aggressive as ever on track. Perhaps this is the new face of F1: rivals on asphalt, friends off it. Either way, fans are the winners with such human stories.
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