"Oh my god Daniel, I love Daniel Ricciardo": When Oscar Piastri's mother Nicole Piastri was shocked that her son would replace the Aussie

Oscar Piastri's mother, Nicole, recalled the moment her son shared the news that he was going to be driving for McLaren in the 2023 F1 season. Nicole recalled the story while speaking on a podcast in August 2024, as her feelings went from elation to shock when she realised her son would be replacing Daniel Ricciardo.

Oscar Piastri was expected to get a F1 race seat in 2023, but his most likely destination was Alpine. The French team had even announced this move before Piastri denied it via social media.

As things panned out, the driver ended up joining Lando Norris at McLaren in 2023, replacing fellow Aussie Daniel Ricciardo.

Speaking on The Red Flags Podcast in August 2024, Nicole remembered the instance when Oscar first broke the news to her via video call. She recalled her son beginning with asking if there was anyone else who could hear the news, before saying:

"I just wanted to tell you that I've just signed my first F1 contract,"

Naturally thrilled, Nicole replied by saying:

"I was like, 'oh my god, oh my god!' 'So what color are we wearing, are we wearing like navy and pink?', because I'm thinking Alpine."

At the time, Alpine seemed the obvious destination for Oscar, who had been part of their driver academy. But her assumption was quickly corrected.

"And he's like, 'no'." "Like what, what color are you wearing?', and he's like, 'orange'. And I was like 'oh my god, McLaren. Oh my god that's amazing, that's amazing!'"

The excitement didn’t last long, though. Realisation dawned on her about what that meant for one of her favourite drivers, Daniel Ricciardo.

"Then it dawned on me what that meant, and I was like 'oh no, oh no wait', and he's nodding," she continued. "And I said 'Oh my god, Daniel, I love Daniel', and he's just deadpan, he was like 'yep, everybody loves Daniel.'"

Daniel Ricciardo had joined McLaren from Renault in the 2021 season, after his two-year experience at the French team did not bear too many fruits. But it remained tough going for the West Australian, who failed to find his feet at Woking as well.

He was eventually replaced by Piastri in 2023, and ended up returning to Red Bull as a reserve driver.

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What Oscar Piastri told his mom Nicole about replacing Daniel Ricciardo

Daniel Ricciardo and Oscar Piastri at the 2024 Grand Prix of Azerbaijan - Source: Getty

Speaking on the aforementioned podcast last year, Nicole Piastri also recalled what Oscar Piastri said about being the one to replace Daniel Ricciardo. He was seemingly not keen on replacing one of the biggest personalities in the sport.

Nicole remembered her son's exact words, as he expanded on having to replace Ricciardo at McLaren.

"Of all the F1 drivers to be replacing, ever, Daniel is the worst one to be replacing."

But Piastri has done the job in more than decent fashion, outdoing Ricciardo's time at the Papaya team. The 24-year-old is now a seven-time race-winner in F1, and currently leads the 2025 drivers' championship at the halfway point of the season.

Edited by pranavsethii