The amusing story of how a scientist (Corentin Jouault) F1 fan named a wasp after Oscar Piastri

Corentin Jouault on why he named the gwesped piastrii wasp after Oscar Piastri.

"When I arrived at Oxford, I met a group of enthusiastic F1 fans among my colleagues. We frequently discussed the season, debated race results over a pint and last year we found ourselves debating which driver deserved the title.

To settle the discussion, I jokingly declared that I would name a species after Oscar Piastri because I have been cheering for him since his rookie season. I admire both his driving and his calm, professional attitude."

"Discovering a completely new species is not an everyday occurrence, so I had no idea whether I would actually get the opportunity," Jouault explained. "The only thing I knew was that it would probably be a wasp, since that is the group I specialise in. There was also a nice connection with the PiastriHive theme in Oscar's fan community, with bees being a specialised type of wasp."