Oscar Piastri Gets Fossil Wasp Named After Him

Researchers have named a newly identified fossil wasp species Gwesped piastrii after McLaren Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri, citing both his achievements in the sport and the amber’s resemblance to McLaren orange.

The honor comes from a peer-reviewed paper published in the June issue of Palaeoworld by Corentin Jouault of the University of Oxford, Di-Ying Huang of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Celso O. Azevedo of the Federal University of Espírito Santo. Their study describes a tiny wasp preserved in amber from Noije Bum Hill in the Hukawng Valley, Kachin State, Myanmar, dating from the middle Cretaceous period about 98 million years ago.

The fossil itself measures just 1.15 mm long, but the paper makes clear why the species was linked to Piastri. “The specific epithet honors Mr. Oscar Piastri for his achievements in Formula 1, and because the color of the amber piece recalled to the first author the iconic McLaren orange,” the authors wrote. The paper adds: “It is to be treated as a noun in the genitive case.”

That makes the Australian the namesake of a species the researchers classify within the Lancepyrinae genus Gwesped. According to the study, Gwesped piastrii is only the second known species in that genus, giving the find added weight beyond the novelty of the name.

The authors said the new species can be separated from the previously known Gwesped species by “its higher number of flagellomeres and distinctive forewing venation.” Those preserved features in the amber allowed the team to identify it as a separate species rather than a variation of an existing one.

The naming will inevitably draw attention from motorsport fans because of the Piastri connection, but the paper presents the discovery as more than a playful tribute. The researchers said the descriptions of Gwesped piastrii “contribute to refining our understanding of the morphological diversity within the genus,” giving the fossil a role in expanding scientific knowledge as well as adding an unusual off-track distinction to the McLaren driver’s name.