It feels like yesterday when McLaren and Alpine were battling for the signature of a highly-rated 21-year-old F2 champion in the summer of 2022.
Just two years and 35 grand prix starts later, Oscar Piastri is F1’s latest race winner, leading team-mate Lando Norris home in Hungary for the first McLaren 1-2 win since 2021.
In his first 18 months as a grand prix driver, Piastri’s talent and speed were clear for all to see, providing a benchmark that keeps Norris on his toes while reliably racking up big points scores and podium finishes as McLaren takes the fight to Red Bull.
But outside the cockpit Piastri has given away much less on who he really is as a person, flying largely under the radar until his Budapest breakthrough triumph on Sunday.
Piastri likes it that way. Having moved to the UK at the age of 14 to chase his F1 goal, he had come too far not to go all-in on a chance many can only dream of.
“I moved with my dad for the first six months and I was almost 15,” Piastri recounted in an interview with Motorsport.com.
“That was in January, and in July or August and he said: ‘I’m going back to Australia to live with the rest of your family. Either you can come back with me or you can stay here, but it will mean you go to boarding school’.
“I was enjoying racing in Europe and obviously wanted to try and pursue my dream of being an F1 driver, so I knew that I had to stay.”
Keeping a low profile is not too uncommon for newcomers in F1, with the demands of the series so high that every ounce of effort and attention goes towards finding performance while adjusting to the gruelling 24-race schedule and all the extra factory and PR commitments.
It would be easy for TV viewers to call Piastri “boring”, but even if he’s no match for Daniel Ricciardo at the box office, those who work with him appreciate his dry sense of humour, which has slowly been seeping through his team radio messages as well.
In recent races he has also found his voice in media calls, and he didn’t shy away from giving his frank view on a contested track limits call in Austrian GP qualifying. But a court jester or jet-setter, he is not.
“Driving is what I really enjoy,” Piastri said on his laser-focus on racing rather than being a public figure. “I’ve done a few things outside of F1, but I’m trying to get as good a result as I can, so I don’t really want to be distracted in any way.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
“Certainly last year, experiencing that full season for the first time, I didn’t want to tire myself out with with anything extracurricular. And as I grow older and more mature, I guess I’m also just trying discover what I enjoy outside of F1.”
When asked if he felt like he missed out on anything growing up, he said: “A little bit, yes. I didn’t go to university, so I guess I missed out on quite a few things.
“But I knew what I was missing out on and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I managed to have my dream job, and the chances of having that job are incredibly slim, so for me it was worth it and I wouldn’t change that.
“If you want to go do those things, then go and do them. And don’t be an F1 driver!”
It has been helpful for Piastri to have Mark Webber in his corner as his manager, who knows a thing or two about moving from Australia to pursue a racing career, navigating F1’s piranha club or working with a top team.
“The fact that he’d had such a similar pathway [has helped],” Piastri said. “I’ve read his book, so it’s kind of endearing that he’s done it and that he was able to guide me.
“Especially when I got to Formula 2, I needed to get through that pretty quickly if I wanted to get to F1. But not to the same extreme as Mark, who had a very convoluted pathway to F1 to say the least.
“Knowing what it takes to stay in F1, that’s really been the key part of of our relationship. Instead of 30, you’ve now got a team of 1,000 people developing the car. You’re racing against guys that have got 5, 10 or 20 years of experience versus two or three. There’s a lot more things going on. And that’s where he’s really helped out a lot.”
Mark Webber, Oscar Piastri and Ann Webber
Photo by: Uncredited
Much like team-mate Norris, Piastri has been a reluctant sports star, and while his maiden win is certain to increase his profile, he says he is still “learning how to balance” his introversion with being widely recognised.
“Of course, the fans are what make any sport possible, so spending time with them and showing appreciation for them is very important,” he acknowledged.
“But also remember that this is my job, it can be difficult to balance at times. I wouldn’t say it’s too crazy, but there aren’t that many places you can go where you are completely unnoticed.
“The first six months, I was semi-under the radar. When we started getting on the podium, life started to change a little bit more. It comes a bit with the territory, I think now I’m getting a bit more used to it.”
Oscar Piastri, McLaren signs an autograph for a fan
Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images
“I’m not a robot”
If there is one character trait that impressed the paddock, including his own team, it is his unflappable demeanour and levelheadedness, seemingly never getting too carried away when things go well or too dejected on more difficult weekends.
“I think it is somewhat natural for me but it’s also been a conscious effort,” he nodded. “I know I come across as very calm but I’m not a robot. I do have peaks and troughs.
“I would say it’s maybe taking less effort than it does for some others, but everyone is different. Some people perform at their best when they’re in a bit of red mist, others perform when they’re as relaxed as they can be.
“I’m probably more on the relaxed side of things, but there is definitely being too relaxed too. So, I think just finding that right balance and finding out what works for you is important.
“Yes, there’s a radio button, but you can say things without pushing the button…!”
Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team
Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
Why he believes his first F1 win won’t change him
With a fully fledged grand prix win to back up a sprint victory and several podiums, life is moving fast for a driver who was competing in Formula Renault Eurocup just five years ago.
And while it is easy to get caught up in the daily grind of competing at the sharp end of motorsports, Piastri says the privilege of racing in F1 isn’t lost on him, and he still has regular ‘pinch me’ moments.
“When you’re in the thick of the season, it does become normal and you forget about it a bit. But I actually had a moment recently reminding me how I’ve come from the other side of the world, racing go-karts, to now walking through the streets of Monaco being an F1 driver. It was a pretty cool moment.
“I definitely recognise how lucky and how fortunate I am to have made this work, because there are hundreds, if not thousands, that try and it doesn’t work out. And there are tens of thousands probably that don’t even really have the opportunity to try.
“So, I do definitely still pinch myself about how cool this is. At times it can be intense, but I do get to do the coolest job in the world.
“Coming from Australia with the time difference and being that far away, I’ve spent probably six or seven months with my family in the last eight years. But the fact that all the hard decisions and sacrifices paid off and I’m now doing what I love, it certainly makes all those tough times easier.”
Having had several close calls with McLaren, Piastri’s maiden grand prix win in Hungary had been coming for a while.
But just like he feels he hasn’t changed since becoming an F1 driver 18 months ago, the Australian vowed fulfilling his “childhood dreams” of becoming a grand prix winner “wouldn’t change too much” for him as a person either.
“Of course, it would feel incredibly special, but I always try to take the result out of it,” he said. “Some of my podiums were definitely much better than others and some of the races where I finished seventh or eighth were better than the races I finished third or fourth.”
Oscar Piastri, McLaren F1 Team, 1st position, leaves the podium with his trophy and Champagne
Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images
“Even with a win; yes, I would enjoy it a lot for a short time afterwards, but I think it’s just the nature of myself – and probably most drivers – that we are always super critical. We are always thinking of what we could have done better, even if we win.”
So, don’t expect the 23-year-old to be basking in the afterglow of his breakthrough glory too much this weekend when F1 heads to Spa-Francorchamps, where McLaren has another chance to make inroads on Red Bull before the summer break.
There is business to attend to. And in F1, that business happens to be winning.
