Young, talented and very, very fast: 23-year-old Oscar Piastri is one of the hottest drivers on the F1 grid – and he’s only just getting started.
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So far, Piastri counts two wins for two seasons: he took out the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in September, overturning F1 veteran Charles Leclerc’s pole position advantage, and won the Hungary Grand Prix in July (while battling a broken rib). Piastri says it was just another day on the grid
“It was just something I had to do,” Piastri says. “I was always going to race. It took a lot of managing and quite a bit of discomfort, but it was worth it with the results I gained before the summer break.”
Melbourne-born Piastri has always been fascinated by cars – an obsession that set in when he was just six after he was gifted a remote-controlled monster truck. It was a domino effect from there: he competed in Remote Control Racing Australia’s national championships when he was nine and started karting at 10.
“Oakleigh Go Kart Racing Club was the track where it all began in Victoria, and having raced nationally in Australia, I moved to Europe to give myself the best shot of climbing the single-seater ladder up to F1,” he says.
Piastri moved to England to pursue his dream of being an F1 star when he was just 14. It’s a big change for a young kid, but the F1 star took it in his stride.
“I have never really looked at those decisions as sacrifices because it’s what I’ve always wanted to do,” he says. “Those decisions enabled me to realise my dream, so I never look back and think about the things I might have missed out on. I’m so lucky to have this opportunity in front of me.”
A few years later, Piastri secured three back-to-back championships in Formula Renault, F3 and F2 between 2020 and 2021 (and remains the only driver in history to win all three championships in successive seasons). Off the back of that, he scored a contract with McLaren in 2023 to partner Lando Norris. After an impressive first season – where he scored second in the sprint race at the Belgian Grand Prix – McLaren extended the rookie’s contract to the end of 2026. The driver’s estimated salary for the duration of his contract is US$6 million (AU$8.78 million).
“I always dreamt of one day making it to F1, but as a young karter, there are so many hurdles along the way through all the junior categories that until I got closer to F1 and it looked probable that I would win the F2 Championship in 2021, it was still more of a dream,” he says. “I just feel extremely privileged to be doing something I love.”
Piastri says the goal is clear in the future: “Every driver on the grid wants to become World Champion, so of course that is the main ambition.”
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