He was champion of... remote control cars
Strange start to his career but before taking the wheel of a kart, the young Oscar scoured the miniature circuits with his father.
He has also won many local and national competitions in Australia with his remote-controlled car.
To discover
Formula 1: the calendar for the 2022 season
Formula 1: manufacturers' classification
Formula 1: drivers classification
“There is no age limit or age categories. There is basically the upper league, then the second class which I won when I was nine years old. When I won the national championship, the youngest competitor after me was 17, it's a very wide range,”
the Australian explained in an interview with the official FIA website.
He also admitted having hesitated for a long time to join karting, preferring to stay in the growing field of Australian RC Cars:
"We thought about doing it but, trying to travel the world at the age of nine or ten, even with my father, there would have been a lot of risks and uncertainties”
He is sponsored by his father
The importance of sponsors in motorsport no longer needs to be proven.
In the early success of his career, Oscar Piastri credits his father, who supported him through his tech company HP Turners, as the main reason for his rapid success.
From an early age, he has been supported by his two parents Chris and Nicole.
They got into the habit of going karts with him from an early age, being present at all his competitions in Australia.
“My dad is the person who introduced me to karting and he was definitely the first influence in my career, and I would say he's probably still the biggest too. Dad took me to all my races and was my mechanic when I was racing in Australia,”
the new McLaren driver told the Formula 2 website.
Piastri with his F2 trophy in 2021. DPPI / Panoramic
He won everything in F3 and F2
At 21, Oscar Piastri already has countless records, already placing him in very closed circles alongside Lewis Hamilton, Charles Leclerc and George Russell.
The Australian became in 2021 the only driver in history to consecutively win three championships organized by FIA: the Eurocup Renault, Formula 3 then Formula 2.
Buoyed by his consistency and growing ascent, Piastri is also the sixth driver to win the F2 championship as a rookie and the fifth driver to win the F3 and F2 titles straight away.
He is coached by Mark Webber
A few months before Oscar Piastri started his Formula 3 season with the Prema Racing team, former Red Bull driver Mark Webber joined the young Australian driver's entourage as main manager.
An Australian connection that allows Piastri to benefit from valuable advice and above all a strong influence on the paddocks, able to sell his qualities as a driver.
The former teammate of Sebastian Vettel also played a leading role in the signing of Piastri at McLaren by apostrophizing Zak Brown, Andreas Seidl and James Key.
“As an Australian, I naturally turned to him. He was the only Australian driver on the grid at the time, so as well as being my manager, he's also had an influence on my career in other ways, for much longer,"
Piastri said in an interview. on the official FIA website.
“
Oscar is an impressive young man.
I enjoyed watching him continue his education and do things normally like kids his age do while racing competitively.
The level of self-discipline and dedication he has shown is admirable
, ”said the 2015 world champion when formalizing his association with the young Piastri.
He studied at Renault
When Fernando Alonso announced his departure from Alpine for Aston Martin on August 1, Oscar Piastri's name logically circulated in the paddocks, as the Frenchman's arrival in a blue arrow seemed to make sense.
A pure product of French training, he raced in Formula Renault which he won in 2019.
Whether I won the championship last year or not, we would have tried to get into Renault, it's a privilege to be part of the academy, it's the best in the world.
Oscar Piastri in 2020
Crowned with his successes in Formula 2 and Formula 3, Osacr Piastri subsequently became Alpine's main essayist-reserve driver for the current season.
A contract that ended on July 31 ... The day before Fernando Alonso's decision.