F1 driver Piastri nods to Chinese heritage - "They're all here for me!"

SHANGHAI, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri joked that his Chinese ancestry meant the crowd at this year's Chinese Grand Prix had turned up chiefly to support him over every other driver.

In the run-up to last year's Chinese Grand Prix, Piastri revealed that he was one-sixteenth Chinese, and made further reference to his roots during this Saturday's post-qualifying press conference at the Shanghai International Circuit.

Asked by a reporter about his background, Piastri replied: "The 1/16th heritage wasn't a joke - that's real," prompting fellow racer George Russell to respond, "What? Wow!"

With Zhou Guanyu not in a race seat this year, there is no Chinese driver on the 2025 F1 grid, and Piastri joked that the crowd had thrown its weight behind him instead.

"They [the crowd] are all here for me, not for Lewis [Hamilton]!" Piastri quipped.

"It's many generations ago and I definitely can't speak Chinese and I'm not going to embarrass myself."

"But I've definitely enjoyed coming here a lot more this year. I've been able to see a little bit more of Shanghai. The weather's been much nicer than it was last year." ■