Piastri goes Griddy with success but vows it's a one-off

Photo by CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP

Oscar Piastri enjoyed a dominant run to victory at the Miami Grand Prix on Sunday but the McLaren driver could not claim an entirely flawless afternoon.

After getting out of the car, the 24-year-old Australian tried to perform the first ever Formula One version of the "Griddy" but the execution left something to be desired.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson is known for the dance after touchdowns in the NFL, although it takes its name from a viral TikTok created by high school player Allen "Griddy" Davis.

Piastri, known for his unflappable demeanour, precision and calmness under pressure but not so much for extrovert tendencies, was not a natural proponent. "It was an attempt at a Griddy, as you can tell, poorly executed," Piastri told reporters when asked about his dance.

"I met Justin Jefferson on Thursday, who has essentially made the Griddy world famous, and stupidly made a bet with him that if I won the race, then I would do one for him.

"After qualifying yesterday, I didn’t practice because I thought that was definitely not going to be needed," said the Australian, who started fourth on the grid with teammate Lando Norris on the front row.

"So yeah, that was my first attempt at a Griddy live on world TV. I stayed true to the bet, but that’s the one and only time you’ll be seeing me do that."

The Vikings responded on social media platform X by saying "Oscarrrrrr! Lets Gooooo!"

Piastri otherwise had nothing to feel embarrassed about after 57 laps around Miami's Hard Rock Stadium complex.

The victory was his fourth in six races and the third in a row, and he stretched his championship lead over Norris to 16 points.

Piastri also overtook Norris on career wins with six to the Briton's five despite being in only his third season to his teammate's seventh.

The Australian cashed in when Norris and Red Bull's polesitter Max Verstappen clashed at turn two, moving up to third and then passing Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli and Verstappen to take the lead.

He finished 37 seconds ahead of the nearest non-McLaren rival, Mercedes' George Russell.

Despite that, he was not happy with his performance in qualifying on Saturday.

"I won the race this weekend, but I think the likelihood of winning many races (while) qualifying fourth is pretty low," said Piastri.

"I did a lot of things right today, but there was definitely some good fortune there as well, and a very quick car. I don’t want to rely on that every single Sunday."

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