Formula 1 rookie Oscar Piastri will be making his debut at McLaren in 2023, and he recently revealed why he chose #81 as his race number. Though it may seem like a random choice, the number holds special significance for the young driver. Let’s take a closer look at why Piastri is choosing to carry #81 when he takes to the track next season.
The Significance of Piastri’s Number 81
Piastri was asked about his decision to go with the number 81 and he explained that it was inspired by changing his original choice of 28 to an 8 followed by a 1. The Sydney-born driver has been racing with #28 since 2019, which was also Ricciardo’s starting number when he joined Renault in 2021.
Ricciardo himself had chosen #3 as a tribute to Ayrton Senna, who won three world titles driving for McLaren from 1988 to 1991. To respect this legacy, Piastri decided against using the same number and decided instead on 81 – an 8 followed by a 1 – in homage to Ricciardo’s most recent choice. This is also a fitting way for Piastri to pay tribute to one of Australia’s greatest racing drivers while simultaneously making his own statement ahead of his F1 debut season.
It should be noted that no other F1 driver has used #81 before, meaning that Piastri will become the first driver ever to carry this significant number. It is clear that he takes great pride in this honor and wants make sure that he puts everything into making sure that he makes the most of this opportunity and does not let it go to waste.
Oscar Piastri is set for an exciting start at McLaren with race number 81, which symbolizes both his connection with Daniel Ricciardo and marks him as the first ever Formula 1 racer to use this special digit combination. As fans eagerly await next season’s start, we can be certain that Piastri carries great pride in carrying such an important number and will put everything into achieving great success during his rookie campaign at McLaren.