Oscar Piastri ‘secret weapon’ as ‘assassin’ ally under the microscope

Oscar Piastri feels that F1 2025 has been a “breakthrough” year for him in Formula 1, as everything has “clicked a lot more this year”.

Putting the results to one side, Piastri opened up on how his work outside of the car has put him in what he feels to be a much stronger position. He opened up on the role which his new trainer Artturi Similia has played in this, after he was called the Aussie’s “secret weapon” and an “assassin”.

Oscar Piastri opens up on Artturi Similia alliance

With three rounds to go in F1 2025, Piastri is looking to get his title bid back on the right track. He believes the best version of Oscar Piastri yet is taking on the fight, as he sets about trying to reel in McLaren teammate Lando Norris.

Asked on the Beyond the Grid podcast whether he regards this season as a breakthrough year, Piastri replied: “Definitely, yes.

“And I say that kind of putting the results to one side.”

Piastri has claimed seven grand prix wins so far in F1 2025.

“Obviously, there has been a lot of good results along the way, but I think everything has just felt like it’s clicked a lot more this year,” he continued.

“There’s still been the odd race here and there that’s been a bit tricky, but I think, in very broad terms, everything has just gelled a bit more, and everything’s come a little bit more naturally. Whereas, I think my first season, there was a lot of things I had to learn and a lot of, especially driving techniques and things that I had to learn kind of the hard way.

“It was still learning that a bit last year in my second year, but I felt like by the end of the year, it was more just putting everything together that was the missing piece of the puzzle. And I feel like this year, for a lot of the year, I’ve been able to put that together more often than not. And I think for me, that’s kind of been the big breakthrough.

“We did a lot of hard work in the off-season, kind of trying to identify where I could find a little bit more time here and there.

“That wasn’t just simply from how do I drive faster? It was looking through the data and that kind of thing, but also from how I work with the team around me, how I get the most out of the car, how I get the most out of the engineers, and how I can improve in getting what I want from the car, whether it be fitness, mental resilience.

“All of those kind of things have been a step forward this year, and I think that’s where things have clicked a bit more this year.”

Picking up on Piastri’s mention of his work off the track, podcast host Tom Clarkson brought up Artturi Similia, who took over as Piastri’s physio after Kim Keedle moved on following the end of last season.

“One of your secret weapons, if I can call him that, is Artturi Similia,” said Clarkson. “He’s your physio, but he’s new for this year, a bit of an assassin. He’s a former MMA fighter. He was a physio in the NFL. He’s worked with gold medal-winning athletes as well.

“I mean, what sort of a difference has Artturi made to you?”

Piastri replied: “He’s been important this year, definitely.

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“I think it’s also been a bit of a learning experience for him as well, because it’s his first year in F1. Also for him to just kind of understand how the season works and trying to manage fatigue levels and stuff like that, has been a learning experience for him as well as me.

“But I think there’s been some new things he’s brought to the table this year, definitely, which has been only a good thing, really.

“It’s been making sure I’ve been in as good a condition as I can be, going into the season and then through the weekends, you know, trying to look after me. So yeah, he’s been a massive help this year.

“But even just having someone… we obviously speak about how long the season is. We spend so much time with people like Artturi. Your physio, especially, is the main person you spend your time with. I have spent more time with him this year than I have anyone else in the world.

“We’re still talking, which is good! So it’s been important to have that relationship be strong as well off the track, which has been good.”

With three rounds of the season remaining, Piastri sits 24 points behind McLaren teammate and championship leader Norris. At one stage leading the championship by 34 points, Piastri has gone five races without a podium, opening the door for Norris to take control.

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