Scientist Names 98‑Million‑Year‑Old Wasp After McLaren Driver Oscar Piastri

If McLaren driver Oscar Piastri having a 98‑million‑year‑old wasp species named after him sounds like an elaborate inside joke, that’s essentially how it began.

Oxford research fellow Corentin Jouault, together with Prof. Di‑Ying Huang and Prof. Celso O. Azevedo, studied a 98‑million‑year‑old wasp fossil from Myanmar amber dating to the Cretaceous Period.

The team determined the specimen represents a new species within the Lancepyrinae genus Gwesped. In the peer‑reviewed journal Palaeoworld, Jouault formally described the species as Gwesped piastrii, honoring the McLaren star.

Jouault, 27, is a lifelong Formula 1 fan, a passion that influenced his decision to name the wasp after the Australian driver.

“I have been immersed in Formula 1 since childhood,” Jouault told Motorsport.com. “My grandfather was a long‑time F1 aficionado, and although my research often takes me to remote locations, I try to keep a race on in the background whenever possible.”

After moving to Oxford, he joined a group of fellow F1 enthusiasts among his colleagues, and their debates over race results eventually led him to joke that he would name a new species after Oscar Piastri, whose calm, professional demeanor he admires.

Scientist Corentin Jouault (27) pledged to name his next discovery after Oscar Piastri as the McLaren driver contested the 2025 world championship.

Photo by: Jayce Illman / Getty Images

Discovering a new species is rare, so the pledge was initially a light‑hearted joke.

“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 my specialty, and there’s a nice connection with the ‘PiastriHive’ theme in his fan community, where bees are a specialized type of wasp.”

During a research stay at the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Jouault and Huang examined an unusual fossil wasp encased in Myanmar amber. Their detailed taxonomic work—cutting, polishing, and photographing the specimen—revealed features that placed it in an extinct lineage from the age of dinosaurs.

“When we compared it with all known relatives, a unique combination of characteristics stood out, confirming it was a new species,” he said. “That moment I realized I had found my Piastri species, perfectly timed with Oscar’s remarkable 2025 season.”

Jouault clarified the double “i” in the species name: under zoological nomenclature, a species named after a man adds the suffix “‑i” to the surname; because “Piastri” already ends with an “i,” the correct form becomes “piastrii.”

In the formal description, he wrote: “This species can be readily distinguished from the previously known Gwesped species by its higher number of flagellomeres and distinctive forewing venation.”

The Gwesped piastrii species

Photo by: Corentin Jouault

Further analysis of additional amber specimens led the team to identify a second, distinct wasp lineage, for which they consulted Celso Azevedo, a world authority on the group.

The peer‑reviewed paper appeared in the June issue of Palaeoworld and quickly amused the F1 community.

The orange‑hued amber, measuring 10 × 8 × 2 mm, reminded Jouault of McLaren’s distinctive papaya livery, a nod to both the team’s colors and the Brazilian heritage of collaborator Azevedo, linking back to Ayrton Senna’s legacy.

After the announcement, Jouault, now visiting the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology in Japan, was inundated with messages and social media reactions. A McLaren‑produced clip even showed a bemused Piastri responding to the team’s playful wasp‑related puns.

“I did not expect this level of attention from the F1 community,” he said. “My phone was buzzing continuously with notifications, likes, retweets, and messages from all directions.”

While he appreciates the spotlight, Jouault cautions against naming species too casually.

“If I discover another wasp, I probably won’t name it after an F1 driver,” he laughed. “Dedicating a species to a person should remain an exceptional honor. If I ever do it again, I might consider a legend like Alain Prost.”

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