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Oscar Piastri is one of the most exciting talents on the Formula 1 grid and he will be competing in the series for the very first time this season, making him one of the rare rookies, especially when it comes to some of the more competitive teams.
World Championships 🏆 0 WC Points💯 0 Races 🚦 2 Race Wins 🏁 0 Podium Places🥈 0 Pole Positions⏱️ 0 Debut Race 🏎️ 5 March 2023
McLaren’s newest prodigy was a star in Formula 2, winning the championship in 2021, and after a year out from racing – Piastri will be looking to make a name for himself at the highest level.
The New Aussie Kid On the F1 Block
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As a rookie, Piastri will be starting his Formula 1 career this season. Aged just 21, he will be the youngest driver on the grid and he will be competing in the youngest team with 23-year-old Lando Norris as his teammate. The Australian has become the highest paid rookie in F1 history and now stands as the 18th Australian driver to ever race in F1.
He joins the fray after making a name for himself by winning the Formula 2 championship in 2021. Piastri dominated the championship and won the series by over 60 points, winning six out of 23 races. After such an impressive F2 campaign, he was poached by the Alpine team as a reserve and testing driver for the following Formula 1 season.
However, the relationship between Piastri and Alpine soon broke down after the French team attempted to announce the 21-year-old as their driver for the 2023 season, without telling him. This caused chaos in the driver market as the Australian refused to stay with the team and instead, he opted to join McLaren in a shock move.
The Melbourne born driver also holds a close friendship with former Formula 1 driver, Mark Webber, who acts as Piastri’s mentor and agent. The fellow Aussie played a huge role in the contract fiasco last summer, and will no doubt be imparting words of wisdom onto his new protégé.
Support From the Father Helped Piastri Reach Formula One
Oscar Piastri was born in Melbourne in 2001, the second biggest city in Australia and the state capital of Victoria. He has been guided through his career by his motorsport loving father, Chris Piastri, who runs a successful automotive software development company.
Piastri senior spent thousands to support his son through the beginning stages of his motorsport career, and even sponsored him through the Formula 4 championship, which was clearly a smart move that paid off for Piastri and his family.
Not Much Is Known About Piastri’s Love Life
We do know that Oscar Piastri is in a long term relationship with one Lily Zneimer, but we don’t really know much about her. Lily has been by his side throughout most races of his career, but not much is known about the pair as they prefer to keep their life and relationship private, far from the eyes of the media and fans.
Still In the Early Stages of Making the Big Bucks
The 21-year-old is estimated to be worth around $1.5 million after signing a multi-year contract with McLaren which is estimated to pay the driver around $750,000 a year, which is not much compared to some other, more experienced drivers.
Still, it is a reasonable amount for a rookie and McLaren have invested a lot more into their new talent after they ripped up Daniel Ricciardo’s contract, which reportedly ended up with a $18 million pay-out, to make room for Piastri.
- Full name: Oscar Piastri
- DOB: 6th April 2001
- Age: 21
- Place of Birth: Melbourne, Australia
- Nationality: Australian
- Team: McLaren Racing F1 Team
- Race number: #81
From the Local Karting Track to the Top: How Did Piastri Reach Formula 1?
Much like Lewis Hamilton, Piastri began his motorsport career by racing remote controlled cars with his father, who spent over $5,000 on the required equipment. Then, in 2011, Piastri began his amateur go-karting career and became professional three years later. In 2014, he competed in European and other CIK-FIA sanctioned karting championships with Ricky Flynn Motorsport.
After two years, the Australian decided to move to the United Kingdom to further his racing career in the Formula 4 championship. Sponsored by his father’s company, HP Tuners, Piastri finished sixth in his first season in the series after claiming two podiums.
In the following season, he joined up with TRS Arden Junior Racing Team for the British F4 series and finished second with six wins. His performances that year earned a promotion to the Formula Renault Eurocup, again with Arden, and he continued to show his potential by finishing his first season in ninth.
Aged 17, Piastri switched to R-ace GP for the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup campaign and went on to win the championship. Seven wins and four podiums in 19 starts proved to be enough for Prema Racing to sign the driver for the following Formula 3 season.
Piastri started his time in Formula 2 with a bang, winning his first race after just two rounds in the new series. He went on to win the championship and became one of the only drivers to win the series in his rookie year, alongside the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc, and George Russell.
Winning the Formula 3 championship in such style meant that the Australian was able to move straight into Formula 2 with Prema Racing. Then the rest was history. Piastri went on to dominate the 2021 F2 championship and became the first driver to win three consecutive F1 feeder series’ championships, with his 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup title.
He quickly became one of the most promising talents in the world of motorsport and Renault, now Alpine, wasted no time in signing the driver. It was a meteoric rise for Piastri, who impressed at every level.
High Ambitions for the 2023 Season
Piastri has faced an unfortunate start to his career with McLaren at Bahrain GP, after a technical issue caused the Australian to retire from the race on his debut. His first stint in Formula 1 lasted just 14 laps after the car failed to restart after a steering wheel change, which means he is also last place in the championship. The rest of the season looks uncertain for the British giants, who have started the campaign off poorly. A lack of speed and reliability issues for the papaya team means that the Australian may have to fight even harder to make an instant impact.
The best way to stand out in your rookie season, is to beat your teammate. But with the quality of Lando Norris, this task may be difficult. The Brit has been one of the top performers over the last few years and it would take an incredibly special season from the rookie to finish the 2023 F1 campaign as the better driver.
Overall, Piastri faces an incredibly tough fight against his teammate to become the face of McLaren and with the current state of the car, any sort of points would be vital. After all, the F1 odds on Piastri winning the title say it all since they go as high as 999/1 (1000.00).
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