It’s been a long 12 months in the life of Oscar Piastri.
From the highs of winning his junior titles to the purgatory of a year on the sidelines and the low of being painted as a Formula 1 villain, the 21-year-old Melburnian has borne much weight on his shoulders on the way to finally signing up with the historic McLaren team for his long awaited F1 debut.
It means he arrives in the top tier of the sport already well seasoned by its cruel and unpredictable twists and turns — and with the reputational baggage that comes with that too.
But these experiences have shaped Piastri for the better. Remarkably mature for just 21 years old and with an impeccable racing CV, he lands on the grid as one of the most highly anticipated rookies in a generation and with much expected of him.
And it’s not without reason that Piastri is so lauded. In his history are the makings of a Formula 1 great.
PIASTRI THE ‘INSANELY’ GOOD WUNDERKIND
Piastri isn’t in F1 by accident. While some drivers arrive in Formula 1 with undercooked resumes or pockets stuffed with cash, Oscar is as meritorious a recruit as they come.
In 2017, his first full year racing cars, he was runner-up on debut in the British Formula 4 championship. The following year was his only false note — eighth in his rookie Formula Renault Eurocup season — but since then he’s enjoyed nothing but glittering gold.
He made amends by winning the FRE championship in 2019. He then won the Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles in subsequent years, both on debut and both during the height of the COVID pandemic — impressive on all counts.
Winning three junior titles in succession is a high watermark on the road to Formula 1.
To put that into context, George Russell was third in the F3 championship before winning in GP3 and F2. Charles Leclerc did slightly better, with second in F3 before claiming the GP3 and F2 titles.
McLaren teammate Lando Norris arguably comes closest to Piastri’s level of achievement. The Briton won successive rookie laurels in Formula 4, Formula Renault Eurocup and Northern European Cup, the Toyota Racing Series and Formula 3, but he was beaten to the F2 title by Russell before entering F1 in 2019.
Perhaps that’s why the 23-year-old is refusing to underestimate the challenge of racing alongside Piastri this season despite butchering Daniel Ricciardo in their two years together.
“I expect it’s still going to be a challenge, even for me, to go up against him,” Norris told Fox Sports. “At the same time I just look forward to working with him, getting to work with someone new, a guy who’s done insanely well in his junior career.
“I’m sure he’s going to want to start off with a bang.”
PIASTRI THE OLD HEAD ON YOUNG SHOULDERS
They say ‘if you’re good enough, you’re old enough’, but that’s not always true.
Lance Stroll obliterated rivals in Italian F4, the Toyota Racing Series and Formula 3 on his way to his F1 debut at 18 years old. While clearly possessing great speed, it’d be difficult to argue that his early years in the top class wouldn’t have benefited from a longer junior apprenticeship that the brief three years he got.
But a lack of maturity or preparedness won’t be an issue for Piastri.
From his very first interactions with Formula 1 it was clear that Oscar had a far wiser head on his shoulders than the date of birth on his passport suggested.
“What was most impressive was … he’s extremely smart and mature for his age — like, extremely smart,” Alpine CEO Laurent Rossi told select media, including Fox Sports, last year. “His questions are really impressive, so that’s the maturity part of it.
“Also he was smart enough to understand that a team is built around its drivers and the feedback they can give and the way they mesh into the team. The way they build performance [is] they need [the team] around them on their side of the garage but also across the two sides of the garage and across the factories.
“He was asking a lot of questions to understand — ‘How can I do that?’ and ‘Why they are doing it?’ and ‘How do they do it?’ and was observing what they were doing. It’s very impressive.
“There’s a difference between being curious and asking a couple of questions and being curious and asking smart questions, one after the other, because you’re building something, and I could see that.
“So he’s fast — that’s great, but it’s just not enough. He’s smart.”
Alpine — before the mid-season unpleasantness — was even relying on Piastri for technical feedback along with his simulator work, trust that isn’t readily extended to drivers who haven’t so much as entered a free practice session yet.
Even while spending a year on the sidelines, with the frustration to not be racing undoubtedly bubbling away beneath the surface, Piastri had all the makings of a great driver with his combination of speed, temperament and intelligence.
But perhaps Alpine would now say that Piastri and his manager, Mark Webber, were too smart for their own good.
PIASTRI THE MISCAST VILLAIN
Piastri’s image as F1’s golden boy shattered spectacularly and rapidly in a febrile five weeks in the driver market.
“Oscar and his camp are considering their options, whatever that means,” Alpine boss Otmar Szafnauer said when asked why his team hadn’t immediately announced the Australian as Fernando Alonso’s replacement in a shock driver market twist.
Szafnauer later pulled the trigger anyway with a press release supposedly confirming Piastri’s arrival, after which the Australian issued his famous “wrong” tweet that set the driver market on fire.
It quickly became an open secret that Piastri was being manoeuvred into McLaren as Daniel Ricciardo’s replacement.
Szafnauer blasted his rogue protégé for lacking integrity and loyalty after having spent millions of dollars nurturing his career. Indeed the team was so convinced he was in the wrong that it took the matter to the FIA’s Contract Recognition Board.
But the CRB found unanimously in McLaren’s favour. Ricciardo had been sacked, Piastri was announced as his replacement and a bizarre chapter in the silly season came to an end.
Yet a clear ruling that Alpine had failed Piastri by neglecting to offer him a contract wasn’t enough to clear his reputation in some quarters, where certain facts still rankled.
Chief among them was that Piastri signed his deal on 4 July, a month before Ricciardo was told he would be sacked and around the same time McLaren CEO Zak Brown told Fox Sports that Daniel would be allowed to see out his contract. Ricciardo later said he had no idea the team had effectively given away his seat in advance.
Some interpreted it as Piastri’s targeting the weakened Ricciardo, going around his back to get a fellow Australian sacked.
Suddenly Szafnauer’s accusation of a lack of loyalty rang differently.
PIASTRI THE SPURNED DRIVER
But to draw the conclusion that Piastri or manager Mark Webber were the villains of the piece would be a wilful misinterpretation.
Webber had one job, and that was to secure Piastri a place on the grid. Alpine was dithering, and in July the best possible outcome was an indefinite loan to Williams, the worst placed team on the grid.
Indeed there’s an irony that Szafnauer would accuse Piastri of lacking integrity when it was his team that failed to show loyalty to its driver with the security of a contract.
So Webber did what all good managers do: he talked. He discovered that McLaren was wavering on Ricciardo. He ensured Piastri was in prime position to capitalise. He got the deal done.
Any manager worth their salt would’ve done the same. Webber would’ve been negligent not to do it. That the negotiations happened to involve Australian friendly fire was merely an unfortunate coincidence.
“I get how people were like, ‘Oh, you know, doing that to another Aussie!’, and blah, blah, blah, but I certainly didn’t view it like that or take it as it kind of seemed maybe from the outside,” Ricciardo told In the Fast Lane at the end of last season. “We were all just trying to do the best we could.
“It’s a little harsh that he’s getting some stick when people are just making their own assumptions.
“He was in the situation, but it’s not like he created the situation; it was just a product of all these things happening and then, okay, he’s the guy, and that’s it.
“So I felt for him. This should be one of the proudest moments of his career, not something that he’s scared to talk about.”
Ricciardo called Piastri in the immediate aftermath to ensure there was no bad blood between them, and Webber sought out Daniel in the paddock to do likewise.
“It was just kind of how the chips fell,” Ricciardo said.
PIASTRI THE F1 ROOKIE
Piastri will have been through a remarkable amount in his short racing lifetime before he finally takes his place on his first Formula 1 grid this Sunday in Bahrain. But that was only the prologue.
F1 will come at him thick and fast, and his first challenge will be to overcome what is sure to be the worst season in his racing history.
Based on pre-season testing, McLaren is in for an even rockier year than 2022 with a car that’s both uncompetitive and unreliable, at least until its first major update at the end of April.
Ironically it’s his inexperience that might prove most valuable as the team seeks to overcome its woes.
“I think every driver brings a fresh perspective on everything,” Norris told Fox Sports. “The way that they act and talk about the car, describe the car.
“He does drive in a different way. So new minds, you know — you always bring different ideas and you bring creativity, and that’s always something which is good, something fresh.
“Especially in a time when you want a lot, when you’re looking for development, you’re looking for different ideas, someone different can always add that little thing.
“He’s very good from that side of things.”
But Piastri isn’t kidding himself that his lack of F1 experience will be of any great use as the season gets started. He’s acutely aware that his junior accolades and rapid reputation were only good enough to get him to F1, not to keep him there.
Odd though it may be to say after the serious tribulations encountered on his way to this moment, the real hard work starts from now.
“I think there is a lot to learn,” he admitted. “Everyone’s coming into this year within the team with the knowledge that I haven’t raced for over a year now.
“I’m realistic about that as well, that there’s going to be a bit of rustiness.
“Also, I’m entering F1 — it’s not a walk in the park. I think we’re all realistic about how long it’ll take to learn.
“But I’m just looking forward to getting back out there, and hopefully I can learn quickly.”
Being a quick learner is just one of the many things Piastri has been known for in a decorated, colourful and sometimes controversial journey to the top tier of motorsport, but from this weekend he can whittle that list of identities down to just two: he’s a Formula 1 driver and he’s Australia’s next best hope of a world championship.
What he can achieve now he’s assumed his ultimate form will be fascinating to learn.
