Oscar Piastri in F1 ‘recapture’ call after Lewis Hamilton 2008 McLaren run

Oscar Piastri sampled Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 title-winning McLaren – and it left him wondering if F1’s future should look a little more like its past.

Piastri offered a telling “I still get to call myself an F1 driver” when asked for his favourite thing about F1 2026. He believes that trying to “recapture” some elements from that bygone era would be “very cool” for the future of the sport.

Oscar Piastri reflects on Lewis Hamilton McLaren experience

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Ahead of the Miami Grand Prix, Piastri – at a McLaren fan event – had the chance to get behind the wheel of the McLaren MP4/23, which his predecessor Lewis Hamilton drove to title glory in 2008.

“It was cool. It’s always fun to drive an old car,” said Piastri, as he spoke in a Miami driver press conference alongside Nico Hülkenberg and Sergio Perez.

“The noise was pretty special, a bit simpler and just the feeling you get from it is pretty cool.

“It’s obviously a cool day for us as a team, but driving a naturally aspirated V8 was cool.”

Formula 1 engines are a key topic for debate currently. The FIA opened an opportunity for tweaks to the regulations, following a series of meetings in April.

While Hamilton is enjoying F1 2026, the majority of drivers have been left unimpressed with the battery management demands which come with the sport’s new engines.

Piastri was asked for his favourite thing, and least favourite thing, about the current F1 era.

“I still get to call myself an F1 driver… That’s always a cool thing to say,” he quipped.

“The least favourite thing… In all seriousness, driving a car from 2008 yesterday and seeing some of the cool cars from the past, I think trying to recapture some of those things would be very cool for the future.

“As to the product, I think clearly, we’re making changes to try and improve it.”

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Formula 1 went for lighter, smaller and more nimble cars in 2026, with 30 kilograms lost compared to the departing ground effect machines.

Hülkenberg played down the significance of that weight loss, so Piastri was asked how much weight he felt the cars need to shed for a difference to be felt.

“I mean, I don’t know what weight the car I drove yesterday was,” Piastri began. He was informed that 605 kilos was the minimum weight in 2008.

Piastri continued: “But realistically, to make a big difference the number needs to be probably 50 plus, probably closer to 100, in all honesty.

“The cars are still very heavy. I think if we could get it back into a figure starting with six, in the 600s somewhere, that would probably be good.

“We’re never going to get back to 500s or high 500s. I think the only way you can get there is taking out the battery and making the engines simpler, but I don’t think you necessarily need to do that.

“The cars last year we had in high-speed corners were probably some of the best we’ve ever had. Granted, I know mine was probably the best of the lot, but I think you can achieve some of that realistically…. I don’t know the numbers of the weight of the engine and stuff, but if we had a simpler engine then you could easily take out quite a bit of weight, I think.

“But whether that’s actually beneficial for the sport, is a completely different question.”

The current engine formula is due to remain in place until the end of 2030.

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