Oscar was put through his paces on his first days back at the wheel of a Formula 1 car as the team ramped up their pre-season preparations.

Blowing off the cobwebs in the 2023 McLaren MCL60 for a Pirelli Tyre Test, getting back up to speed on the tarmac marks a significant step towards official pre-season testing. Speaking after being back on track after a well deserved off season;

“It’s good to have a week or two where you can be at home and do absolutely nothing and not feel guilty about it. Coming from Australia, that is one of the harder things about racing, in that I don’t get home very often.

For me, being at home is a big part of the off-season, so it was nice to go back to Australia for a decent amount of time and get an Aussie summer in. It was good to see my friends and family and just enjoy being home for a bit. I am feeling refreshed.

I got some good training in, but it has been nice to get back into the car. The first week was very cold and wet, but it was nice to get back out there. It all felt pretty familiar, which is always nice. And when it is quite wet, that’s when you need your reactions the most - so it was good to get back into a tricky set of conditions and put myself to the test. The first lap or two felt pretty quick, but after that, it all felt normal. I think we learnt a lot, and I felt like I got back into the swing of things easily.”

Entering his third Formula 1 season, Oscar will be looking to build on two hugely impressive campaigns. Having won twice in 2024 to finish fourth, he’ll be aiming to improve again and join the title fight this season.

“We’re now getting into it all – we’ve got all of the usual pre-season marketing and comms work, the graphics you see on TV, the content for fans and partners, and of course, the launch we’re doing at The O2, which will be interesting. It will be good to see everyone at the factory, to get properly back to work and to get into the seat of the 2025 car and see what that is like.”