Three biologists have named a newly discovered wasp species after McLaren Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri
Corentin Jouault, Di-Ying Huang, and Celso O. Azevedo examined a 98-million-year-old fossil from the Cretaceous period that was discovered in Myanmar. Their work provided insights into the species’ evolution and its morphological similarities to other wasp species.
The prehistoric wasp is encased in a rectangular piece of amber measuring 10x8x2 millimeters, which is housed at the Institute of Geology and Paleontology in Nanjing, China. The study was published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal specializing in paleontology.
Interestingly, Jouault, one of the authors and a research fellow at the University of Oxford, named the new wasp species Gwesped piastrii after McLaren F1 driver Oscar Piastri.
“The specific epithet honors Mr. Oscar Piastri for his achievements in Formula 1, and because the color of the amber specimen reminded the first author of the iconic McLaren orange. It is to be treated as a noun in the genitive case,” states the paper, which appeared in the June issue of the journal Palaeoworld.
Amateur entomologists will be interested to learn that Gwesped piastrii is the second species of the genus Gwesped in the Lancepyrinae subfamily. “This species can be easily distinguished from the previously known Gwesped species by a higher number of antenna segments and characteristic veining on the forewings,” the researchers explained in detail.
After a turbulent start to the 2026 season, Piastri currently ranks sixth in the World Championship. The Australian was unable to compete in the first two Grands Prix in Melbourne and Shanghai before finishing second in Japan.
The 25-year-old is currently competing in the infamous Isle of Man TT before the entire field heads to the streets of Monte Carlo next week for the Monaco Grand Prix.
