Oscar Piastri, born April 6th 2001, hails from Melbourne, Australia and drives for the storied McLaren F1 team, earning a full-time seat for the 2023 campaign. He’s one of only five drivers to win Formula 3 and Formula 2 in consecutive years (2020-2021). He’s also the only driver to win three consecutive F1 feeder series, having won the Renault Eurocup in 2019. Oscar got his start in Formula One as a reserve driver for Alpine. He joined the the Alpine Driver Academy (formerly Renault) in 2020 and was later promoted to reserve driver for the 2022 season. He was also on loan to McLaren in 2022 should they have needed an extra driver. Unfortunately for Alpine, Piastri turned his reserve role with McLaren to full-time status after fellow countryman, Daniel Ricciardo, left the team.
Oscar was born to parents Chris and Nicole Piastri, both of whom are of Italian descent. His grandfathers were mechanics and his father, Chris, owns HP Tuners, an automotive software company. On his way home from an overseas business trip, Chris bought Oscar a remote-controlled car which became an obsession, leading Oscar to a 3rd place finish in his first-ever event. His competitors were in their twenties and thirties while he was only six. Oscar’s bedtime stories at the time came from books about cars. As a kid he learned about horsepower and speed, and by the age of nine Oscar had moved on to karting, where he honed his skills with former Australian karting champion, James Sera, as a mentor. At the age of 14, Oscar placed third in an international karting event at Le Mans and it became apparent that he might be able to take things to the next level. So he and his father set up shop in the UK, where he eventually moved from karts to Formula 4, placing 2nd in the British Championship in his first year. Clearly, Piastri was quite comfortable making the transition from karts to something more powerful. After that first season Piastri moved up yet again, this time to Formula Renault, and won the championship in his 2nd season. That was enough to turn some heads on the F1 paddock and attract Mark Webber, former F1 driver, to manage Piastri’s career with an eye towards helping him navigate the complex world of funding and sponsorship.
Oscar Piastri’s 2023 seat at McLaren came with its fair share of controversy in 2022, given the fact that he had been part of the Alpine Drivers Academy since the end of 2019. If it had been up to Piastri, he would have had a Formula One race seat in 2022 with Alpine, or at least a guarantee for 2023 after serving as reserve driver, but Alpine wouldn’t commit. Without a solid offer, Piastri became disillusioned with the team and signed a preliminary agreement with McLaren on June 4th 2022. The deal was finalized on July 4th, guaranteeing Piastri a seat for 2023 and 2024 at the eight-time Constructors World Championship winning McLaren F1 Team. With the contract dispute in his rearview mirror, one of F1’s brightest new talents had the opportunity to carry some of the buzz and momentum he created in the junior classes to the pinnacle of motorsports, and he did not disappoint. Oscar won Rookie of the Year in 2023 with ease, proving to the world that he was not only ready to compete in Formula One, he was ready to excel.