Piastri, the 19-year-old speed demon with family ties to Shepparton, was handed the keys to the Renault R.S.18 to chop loops at the Bahrain International Circuit on November 1-2.
Rewarded for his Formula Three grail, Piastri had nearly 450 km of driving time to get accustomed to the new found grunt at his feet.
According to the teen, once the nerves subsided his autopilot kicked in, allowing him to soak up his first F1 experience during the 82-lap test run.
“I really enjoyed the experience in the R.S.18,” Piastri said.
“It was my first time in a Formula One car, so it was very exciting if not a little bit nerve-racking at the same time.
“Once I did the install lap, all the nerves went away, and I focused on having fun and driving fast.”
Piastri was joined in Sakhir by two other members of the Renault Sport Academy as part of the young driver development program.
Grooming the trio for future F1 ventures, Renault Sport academy director Mia Sharizman waxed lyrical of Piastri’s impressive debut in the R.S.18.
“I am impressed with Oscar’s approach for his first day in the F1 car,” he said.
“He managed to get up to speed pretty quickly and complete his run plan.
“We can see from his first day in the car that he is capable of adapting to a new car quite easily, which is one of the biggest traits that we would like to see.”
Fitted with Pirelli tyres and a V6 turbo hybrid Renault E-Tech power unit, the R.S.18 was a fair step up from Piastri’s usual machine of choice.
Throughout his run he spanned multiple stints on varying fuel loads as well as testing Pirelli’s range of tyre compounds.
Although initially wary of the R.S.18's power beforehand, the Melbourne-based racer ultimately relished his run and feels he's in good stead for when he next pilots the 2018-spec monster.
“It was a really enjoyable experience and I felt the pace was quite good. I got used to the car pretty quickly and I certainly learnt a lot,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to whenever the next experience may be, so thanks to Renault, both the Academy and the Formula One team, for the opportunity.
“I feel very lucky, as not everyone gets to do this and it’s not something you do every day.”
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