Oscar Piastri

Oscar Jack Piastri is an Australian racing driver who competes in Formula One for McLaren. Piastri has won Formula One Grands Prix across three seasons.
Born and raised in Melbourne, Piastri began his career in radio-controlled racing before moving into karting aged 10, where he won several regional titles. Graduating to junior formulae in 2016, Piastri won his first championship at the 2019 [Formula Renault Eurocup] with R-ace GP. He then won both the 2020 [FIA Formula 3 Championship|2020 FIA Formula 3] and Formula 2 Championship|2021 FIA Formula 2] Championships back-to-back with Prema, becoming the sixth driver in history to win the GP2/Formula 2 title in their rookie season. Piastri is the only driver in history to win Formula Renault, Formula Three, and Formula Two—or equivalent—championships in successive seasons.
A member of the Alpine Academy from 2020 to 2022, Piastri signed with McLaren in to partner Lando Norris, following a contract dispute with Alpine. He made his Formula One debut at the, achieving his first career podium in his rookie season at the. Retaining his seat for, Piastri achieved his maiden List of [Formula One Grand Prix winners|victory] in Hungary, which he repeated in Azerbaijan Grand Prix|Azerbaijan], becoming the fifth Australian to win a Formula One Grand Prix. In, he took seven further victories, as well as his maiden pole position at the, as he finished third in a title battle with Norris and Max Verstappen.
As of the, Piastri has achieved race wins, pole positions, fastest laps, and podiums in Formula One. Piastri is contracted to remain at McLaren until at least the end of the 2028 season.

Early life

Oscar Jack Piastri was born on 6 April 2001 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. His father, Chris Piastri, is the founder and owner of HP Tuners, an automotive software company; the company sponsored his junior formulae career with up to million. He served as Piastri's kart mechanic as he contested List of [kart racing championships#Australia|national championships in Australia]. His mother, Nicole Piastri, helped raise him in the suburb of Brighton with his three younger sisters—Hattie, Edie, and Mae. He claims Italian, Yugoslavian, and Chinese heritage from his father, as well as Scottish and Irish from his mother. His bedtime stories frequently consisted of automotive books, prompting his father to buy him a radio-controlled car on a business trip when he was six, which he began racing in his backyard.
Piastri began racing competitively aged nine with Remote Control Racing Australia, winning the secondary class of the national championship before moving into kart racing. Aged 14, he moved with his father—who returned to Melbourne six months later—to Hertford, England, to continue his international racing career in Europe. Having been privately educated at Haileybury, he moved to its sister school in Hertford Heath—whose Haileybury and Imperial Service College|alumni] include Stirling Moss—as a boarding pupil on a sports scholarship. By the end of 2015, Piastri began travelling for karting tests and competitions between Italy, France, Belgium, Sweden, Spain, and Portugal from Stansted Airport, costing his father around. In Renault Eurocup|2019], he was taken under the wing of nine-time Grand Prix winner Mark Webber and his wife, Ann; the former has served as his manager since and negotiated his move to Formula One.

Junior racing career

Karting (2011–2016)

2011–2015: State titles in Australia

Following his successes in radio-controlled racing, Piastri moved into kart racing in 2011 at the local Oakleigh Go Kart Racing Club in Clayton South, aged 10. A protégé of two-time Australian Champion James Sera, he began competing for the club that year in an FA Kart chassis. He won his first title two years later: the 2013 CIK Stars of Karting in the Rookies class. In 2014, he won the OGKRC Championship, City of Melbourne Titles, South Australian Championship, and National Sprint Classic Champion of Champions in Junior Clubman—he claimed a prize for the latter. He further claimed runner-up in the Australian National Sprint Championship and the Victorian Championship, before progressing to List of [kart racing championships#Active international championships|international competition] in the IAME International Final at Le Mans; he finished third on his debut in X30 Junior from twenty-first on the grid. He closed his national career with third in the KF3 Australian Championship—where he was ranked the Top Qualifier—as well as victory in the Victorian Championship, OGKRC's Junior Top Guns, the Gold Coast Race of Stars, and the City of Melbourne Titles again in 2015.

2015–2016: Move to the European scene

With the support of Sera and talent scout Rob McIntyre, Piastri moved to compete in Europe from 2015 onwards with Kosmic. Vroomkart later contrasted his career path to that of Ayrton Senna, having both progressed from RC racing to European karting after a transcontinental move. In KF-Junior, he claimed twelfth in the European Championship round at Portimão—where he finished twenty-sixth overall—and entered one round of the WSK Super Master Series. In 2016, he returned to Australia to claim his third successive City of Melbourne Titles. In Europe, he joined Ricky Flynn Motorsport in OK-Junior, where he finished tenth in the South Garda Winter Cup, twelfth in the WSK Super Master Series, and eighth in the WSK Final Cup. Back-to-back podiums at Portimão saw him claim sixteenth in the European Championship. He qualified fourth for the World Championship at Sakhir after winning his heat; his pre-final saw him drop to eighteenth before recovering to finish sixth overall in his final karting appearance.

Formula 4 (2016–2017)

2016–2017: Junior formulae debut in the UAE

Following his sixth-place at the Karting World Championship in OK-Junior, Piastri made his junior formulae debut in the second round of the Formula 4 UAE Championship at Yas Marina with Dragon F4; in a nine-driver field, he claimed sixth, fifth, fourth, and fifth on debut. He then scored a pair of fourth-places at Dubai before claiming two podiums on his return to Yas Marina—his final appearance in the series, ending the season sixth overall having contested 11 of 18 races.

2017: Runner-up in British F4

Piastri moved to the F4 British Championship for 2017 with Arden, owned by Christian Horner—who later revealed he turned down the chance to sign Piastri to the Red Bull Junior Team. He opened his campaign with two podiums at Brands Hatch, which he repeated in the third race at Donington Park, marred by the accident of Billy Monger. After another podium at Thruxton, he claimed his maiden F4 victory in the second race at Oulton Park to move second in the championship. Podiums in each race at Croft and two victories from pole position each at Snetterton and Knockhill consolidated his position. He came under pressure from Logan Sargeant after two retirements at Rockingham. A triple podium at Silverstone, including victory in the final race, extended his advantage, before he clinched the runner-up spot to the second-year Jamie Caroline with top-five finishes at Brands Hatch. He closed the season on 376.5 points—20.5 ahead of Sargeant and 65.5 behind Caroline—with six victories from 15 podiums and six pole positions. He later credited "learning from mistakes in F4" as his greatest lesson in junior formulae.

Formula Renault 2.0 (2017–2019)

2017: Northern European Cup debut

Following his British F4 campaign, Piastri debuted in the Formula Renault Northern European Cup at the season-ending Hockenheimring round with Arden. He claimed eighth in both races, ending the season twenty-first overall. He was subsequently invited to attend the Formula Renault 2.0 rookie test at Barcelona-Catalunya, setting the fifth-fastest time.

2018: Podiums in the Eurocup

Piastri remained with Arden for his Eurocup debut in 2018. After claiming sixth and fifth on debut at Paul Ricard, he scored no points at Monza, including a retirement. He finished fourth in the second race at Silverstone before dropping outside of the points again in Monaco. Following his sixth- and ninth-placed finishes at the Red Bull Ring, Piastri achieved his maiden podium finish at Spa-Francorchamps with third in the opening race. Back-to-back points at the Hungaroring extended his run of points finishes to six races, which ended in the first race at the Nürburgring; he claimed seventh in race two. With podiums in both races at the Hockenheimring—finishing third and second—he surpassed Alex Peroni for eighth in the championship, which he retained amidst non-scoring races at the season-ending Barcelona-Catalunya round. He closed his campaign with 110 points—165.5 behind champion Max Fewtrell—and three podiums.

2019: Maiden title

Piastri—now competing under a British licence—joined reigning champions for the 2019 Eurocup. His campaign opened with eighteenth and fourth at Monza. He took his maiden victory from pole position in the first race at Silverstone, which he repeated in the second. He claimed fourth and fifth in Monaco, before returning to the podium with second at Paul Ricard, where he finished sixth in race two. He closed Victor Martins's championship lead to two points with victory in the opening race at Spa-Francorchamps and levelled the standings with his fourth-place in race two. He opened a 40-point advantage by winning both races at the Nürburgring from pole. A formation lap crash at the Hungaroring after aquaplaning reduced the gap by 12.5 points with Martins's victory, which he mitigated by winning the second race from pole. Martins closed his lead to 5.5 points with three consecutive wins from pole at the penultimate Barcelona-Catalunya and Hockenheimring rounds as Piastri finished fifth, third, and second, the latter after an early battle for the lead—his second-place in race two extended it by eight. At Yas Marina, Piastri held off the late advances of Martins to win the opening race, meaning he would clinch the title by finishing seventh or higher in the final race, irrespective of other results. With fourth-place, Piastri clinched his first junior formulae championship by 7.5 points to Martins, having achieved seven wins from 11 podiums and five pole positions. Bruce Williams of Auto Action described it as a "a considerable step towards a Formula One career".

FIA Formula 3 (2020)

In GP3 Series|2018], Piastri partook in the GP3 Series post-season test at Yas Marina with Trident. He returned for the post-season test with reigning FIA Formula 3 champions Prema. Now managed by Mark Webber and a member of the Renault Sport Academy, he signed with Prema for alongside former F4 rival Logan Sargeant and reigning Formula Regional European Championship|Formula Regional European] champion Frederik Vesti. The season was Impact of [the COVID-19 pandemic on motorsport#Formula 2 and Formula 3|delayed and shortened] due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Stating that "fighting for the championship definitely is not out of the question", Piastri qualified third on debut in Spielberg Formula 3 round|Spielberg]; avoiding damage in a first-corner collision with polesitter Sebastián Fernández, he passed Lirim Zendeli at Ams Ag to claim a debut feature race victory, before finishing eighth in the reverse-grid sprint. At the second Spielberg round, he claimed fourth in the curtailed feature and fifth in the sprint to retain his championship lead over Vesti and Sargeant. Back-to-back second-placed finishes in Budapest Formula 3 round|Budapest]—as well as in the Silverstone Formula 3 round|Silverstone] feature—increased his advantage to 25 points, prior to losing eight with a drag reduction system failure in the latter sprint. He fell a point behind Sargeant after claiming seventh and sixth at the second Silverstone round following reliability issues in qualifying, which he retained in Barcelona Formula 3 round|Barcelona] by recovering from a sixth-placed feature to win the sprint, courtesy of four opening-lap overtakes.
At Spa-Francorchamps Formula 3 round|Spa-Francorchamps], Sargeant extended his lead to seven points over Piastri—who claimed fifth and sixth, the latter after a penalty for an illegal overtake on Richard Verschoor—with his sprint victory. Piastri reclaimed the lead at the penultimate Monza Formula 3 round|Monza] round, where he climbed from fifteenth to third in the feature; he retired from the sprint after a collision with Clément Novalak and David Schumacher at Variante del Rettifilo, which was neutralised by Sargeant's late crash with Vesti. Eight points above Sargeant and 24 above the ART of Théo Pourchaire into the season-ending Mugello Formula 3 round|Mugello] round, Piastri—carrying over a five-place grid penalty for forcing David Beckmann off-track—lined up sixteenth on the feature grid; unable to score points in eleventh, he entered the sprint tied with Sargeant—who started fifth—and nine points clear of Pourchaire in eighth. Sargeant was eliminated in a first-lap collision with Zendeli at Luco as Piastri passed four drivers, including Pourchaire, for seventh. Pourchaire reclaimed the position on the safety car restart, but was unable to close the gap with his podium as Piastri clinched seventh and the title. He closed his campaign on 164 points—three ahead of Pourchaire and four ahead of Sargeant—with two victories from six podiums. He credited improvements in his racecraft with helping him deal with the increased competition and subsequently became a Formula One test driver for Renault.

FIA Formula 2 (2021)

Piastri remained with Prema for his campaign in FIA Formula 2, replacing Mick Schumacher to partner Ferrari Driver Academy member Robert Shwartzman. He debuted in Formula Two machinery during the three-day post-season test at Sakhir. Prior to the season, he stated that he was expecting a "very challenging year", with plans to remain in the category for two years. Piastri qualified seventh on debut at Sakhir Formula 2 round|Sakhir], finishing fifth in the reverse-grid first sprint race. Starting sixth for the second sprint, he took his maiden victory after seven overtakes in the closing seven laps, following a pit stop for option tyres behind the safety car, claiming the lead from Zhou Guanyu on the final tour. He then made several overtakes to lead the feature, before retiring amidst a collision with Dan Ticktum while battling for third on the third from last lap. Qualifying third in both 2021 [Monte Carlo Formula 2 round|Monte Carlo] and Baku Formula 2 round|Baku], he claimed second in the second sprint and feature at the former, as well as the latter feature. Following his maiden pole position at Silverstone, he finished sixth, fourth, and third to claim the championship lead from Zhou.
After ending fourth and seventh in the Monza sprints, Piastri won the feature from pole in a battle with Zhou, which he repeated at Sochi Formula 2 round|Sochi] with Théo Pourchaire. He took two further victories at Jeddah Formula 2 round|Jeddah]: he won the second sprint and the feature from pole, the latter being aborted in the wake of several red flag incidents. His fifth consecutive pole at Yas Island Formula 2 round|Yas Island] saw him start tenth in the first sprint, where he claimed third in a late battle with teammate and runner-up Shwartzman to clinch the title; he closed the season with his record fourth successive feature victory. Across his campaign, Piastri took 252.5 points—60.5 ahead of Shwartzman—with six wins from 11 podiums and five pole positions. He became the sixth driver in history to win the GP2/F2 title in their rookie season, the third to win the GP3/F3 and GP2/F2 titles in successive seasons, and the first to win Formula Renault, Formula Three, and Formula Two—or equivalent—championships in successive seasons. Piastri was named FIA Rookie of the Year for his efforts in 2021, stating " done basically everything could ".

Formula One career

Renault / Alpine test driver (2020–2022)

In January 2020, three months after clinching the Formula Renault Eurocup, Piastri became a member of the Renault Sport Academy. He conducted his first test with Renault upon winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship that year, completing nearly in the R.S.18 at Sakhir. He retained his place at the re-branded Alpine Academy in 2021, for whom he tested the A521 at the Yas Marina post-season test, as well as the R.S.18 again at Silverstone and Monza.
After his FIA Formula 2 title victory, Piastri was appointed the reserve driver of Alpine for their campaign, amidst links to an Alfa Romeo move; he was also made available in the role for McLaren following an agreement between the two teams. He completed around of further private tests in the A521 throughout the season—part of an "intense" training programme. Prior to the, he completed a private two-day test for McLaren at Paul Ricard in the MCL35M, before entering post-season testing in the MCL36; he conducted his final rookie test with the team across two days at Barcelona-Catalunya.

2022 contract dispute

In June 2022, Piastri was offered a seat with Williams for on a two-year loan from Alpine, who were expected to retain Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso. In August, Alonso announced that he would replace the retiring Sebastian Vettel at Aston Martin. Alpine then announced that Piastri would be his replacement, in a press release absent of comments from Piastri himself. He rejected their announcement two hours later via Twitter, stating that he had not signed a contract and would not be driving for them in 2023. Team principal Otmar Szafnauer criticised his actions and "integrity as a human being", stating that he expected loyalty from Piastri and further threatened to take legal action. It soon emerged that Piastri was instead in talks with McLaren.
A hearing of the FIA Contract Recognition Board commenced four weeks later to determine whether Piastri was contracted to Alpine, or if he was a free agent—victory for Alpine could have obligated Piastri to either fulfil the contract for 2023, or required an interested team to activate a release clause for his services. Prior to the, the CRB ruled against Alpine, followed by an immediate announcement that Piastri would instead join McLaren. In their final judgment, the CRB revealed that Piastri had signed his McLaren contract almost a month prior to the Alpine announcement—4 July, the day after the. He was initially only guaranteed a reserve role, prior to the termination of Daniel Ricciardo in the week before the CRB hearing. Piastri later claimed a "breakdown in trust" between him and Alpine was behind his decision to leave.

McLaren (2023–present)

2023: Rookie season and maiden podium

Piastri signed for McLaren in, replacing Daniel Ricciardo to partner Lando Norris. On debut at the, Piastri qualified eighteenth amidst performance concerns with the MCL60, before retiring from twelfth with an electrical issue. He started eighth in Saudi Arabia prior to dropping outside the List of [Formula One World Championship points scoring systems|points] with front wing damage sustained in a first-lap collision with Pierre Gasly. His maiden World Championship points scoring systems|points finish] came at his home Grand Prix in Australia, claiming eighth after starting sixteenth. He finished outside the points with eleventh and nineteenth at the Azerbaijan and Miami Grand Prix|Miami] Grands Prix, respectively, suffering contact with Alexander Albon at the former and reliability issues at the latter. A tenth-placed finish saw him claim a point in Monaco Grand Prix|Monaco], before a run of three further non–point finishes—in Spanish Grand Prix|Spain], Canadian Grand Prix|Canada], and Austria. Major upgrades for the saw Piastri qualify third and finish fourth, before finishing fifth in Hungary. He qualified second for the Belgium sprint, retaining the position after a battle for the lead with Max Verstappen; he retired from the Grand Prix subsequent to a first-corner collision with Carlos Sainz Jr. Following a ninth-place at the, he finished twelfth in Italian Grand Prix|Italy] upon front wing damage from Lewis Hamilton, taking his maiden fastest lap after the resultant pit stop. He qualified seventeenth in Singapore Grand Prix|Singapore] after a red flag, where he recovered to seventh. Finishing third after starting on the front-row at the, he became the first rookie to achieve a podium finish since Lance Stroll in 2017. He then took pole for the sprint, holding off Verstappen to claim his maiden sprint victory; he finished second in the main race, having started sixth. He retired from the following a collision with Esteban Ocon, and claimed eighth in Mexico City Grand Prix|Mexico City]. He sustained first-lap damage enroute to fourteenth in São Paulo Grand Prix|São Paulo], before closing his rookie season with tenth- and sixth-placed finishes in 2023 [Las Vegas Grand Prix|Las Vegas] and Abu Dhabi Grand Prix|Abu Dhabi]—qualifying third at the latter. Piastri finished ninth in the World Drivers' Championship with two podiums and 97 points, 108 behind teammate Norris in sixth; his results led to a multi-year contract extension with McLaren until at least the end of 2026.

2024: Maiden wins

Piastri opened his campaign with eighth at the, followed by fourth-placed finishes in Saudi Arabia and Australia. He claimed eighth again at both the Japanese Grand Prix|Japanese] and Chinese Grand Prix|Chinese] Grands Prix. In Miami, McLaren emerged as challengers to championship leaders Red Bull; Piastri dropped to thirteenth following a collision in his battle for second with Carlos Sainz Jr., as teammate Lando Norris took victory. He qualified second at the —demoted to fifth with a grid penalty for impeding Kevin Magnussen—and finished fourth. Piastri qualified and finished second to Charles Leclerc at the, prior to claiming fifth and seventh at the Canadian and Spanish Grands Prix, respectively. He finished second in both the sprint and main race at the. In Britain, he climbed to second from fifth in the wet before a belated switch to intermediate tyres dropped him to fourth; he fractured a rib during the Grand Prix due to an improper seat fit, which he sustained until the summer break. Piastri qualified second for the before overtaking teammate Norris into the first corner; McLaren then controversially allowed Norris to undercut him prior to ordering a position-swap. He allowed Piastri past with two laps remaining, who claimed his maiden victory to become the fifth Australian to win a Formula One Grand Prix. Norris commented that the result was "fair" and "honest", conceding that he lost the race at the start.
Piastri finished second in Belgium after a disqualification for George Russell, promoting him to fourth in the standings—ahead of Sainz—before finishing fourth at the. He led the majority of the after a first-lap overtake on Norris, before a strategic error saw him finish second to the one-stop of Leclerc. Qualifying second to Leclerc in Azerbaijan, Piastri claimed another victory following a race-long battle for the lead. He then took third in Singapore, before finishing fifth at the. Eighth-placed finishes at the Mexico City and São Paulo Grands Prix—including second at the latter sprint after being ordered to allow Norris to win—were followed by seventh-place in Las Vegas Grand Prix|Las Vegas] after a false start penalty. Norris returned the favour at the chequered flag for the sprint, allowing Piastri to take victory before he finished third in the main race. He finished the season-ending in tenth after a first-lap collision with Max Verstappen. Piastri ended the season fourth in the World Drivers' Championship on 292 points—82 behind runner-up Norris—with two victories from eight podiums, helping McLaren win their first World Constructors' Championship since.

2025: Three-way title battle vs. Norris and Verstappen

McLaren entered as title favourites, with Piastri expected to challenge teammate Lando Norris for the World Drivers' Championship. Three days prior to the start of his campaign, McLaren announced a multi-year contract extension with Piastri until at least the end of the 2028 season. He qualified on the front-row for the season-opening, behind teammate Norris; he challenged Norris for the lead before spinning in wet conditions, ultimately finishing ninth. After finishing second in the sprint, he took his maiden pole position at the, dominating the race ahead of Norris to claim his first victory of the season. He finished third in Japan behind Max Verstappen and Norris. Piastri took pole for the, cruising to a 15-second winning margin and moving within three points of Norris. He took another victory in Saudi Arabia to become the first Australian to lead the World Drivers' Championship since. He finished second in the sprint after a late safety car put him behind Norris, before winning the main race. On pole for the, he finished third after a first-corner overtake by Verstappen and a strategic error. He won the after starting on pole, and finished fourth in Canada, where championship rival Norris attempted to overtake him and crashed into the pit wall to extend Piastri's lead to 22 points.
Piastri finished second in Austria after a race-long battle with Norris, narrowly avoiding another collision after locking his brakes at Rauch. He led the majority of the wet-weather before receiving a penalty for inadvertently brake testing Verstappen on a restart, conceding the victory to Norris. He finished second to Verstappen from pole in the Belgium sprint prior to his victory in the wet–dry Grand Prix, which followed an early overtake on polesitter Norris at the exit of Raidillon. He qualified second—ahead of Norris—in Hungary, where Norris beat him to victory on a one-stop strategy. He took pole for the and held off Norris until his teammate's late engine failure, achieving his maiden grand chelem and increasing his advantage to 34 points. Verstappen—104 points behind—re-emerged as a distant title threat in Italy, where Piastri held third until a slow pit stop for Norris elevated him to second; he was controversially ordered to cede the position and settled for third. He crashed out of qualifying in Azerbaijan; starting ninth, he jumped the start, stalled, and crashed into Turn Five on the opening lap, recording his first retirement in 45 Grands Prix and conceding six points to Norris, as well as 25 to Verstappen. First-lap contact with Norris in Singapore dropped Piastri behind him in fourth, as McLaren clinched the World Constructors' Championship with a List of [Formula One constructor records#Other constructor records|joint-record six remaining Grands Prix].
Another first-corner collision with Norris in the United States Grand Prix|United States] sprint saw both retire after Piastri was hit by Nico Hülkenberg in an attempted switchback on Norris for second, which neutralised intra-team "repercussions" Norris was set to face after Singapore; Piastri dropped to fifth in the Grand Prix as Verstappen and Norris—first and second, respectively—closed his advantage to 40 and 14 points. Starting seventh and enduring a mid-race battle with both Mercedes drivers in Mexico City, he finished fifth again and dropped a point behind the victorious Norris. As Norris dominated in São Paulo, Piastri crashed out of third in the sprint in drying conditions at the Senna 'S' and was penalised for colliding with Kimi Antonelli—causing the retirement of Charles Leclerc—in the Grand Prix, dropping from second to fifth. He was initially classified fourth in Las Vegas before both he and Norris were disqualified for skid block wear, levelling him with race-winner Verstappen. Piastri won the Qatar Grand Prix|Qatar] sprint event from pole position to gain more points on Norris and Verstappen, and finished second in the main race after a strategic error by McLaren allowed Verstappen to win the Grand Prix ahead of Piastri at Lusail. The results in Qatar meant that Piastri who had led the Drivers' Championship for much of the season had now slipped to third in the standings, two points behind Verstappen. At the season finale in Abu Dhabi, Piastri qualified third and finished second. As Verstappen won the Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi from pole, with team mate Norris in third, this meant Piastri finished the season third in the standings, 13 points behind eventual champion and McLaren team mate Norris. Piastri finished the season with seven victories and 16 podiums, both records for an Australian driver. He also passed Daniel Ricciardo and equalled Mark Webber in career victories. Piastri's season has been described by himself as one he can be "proud" of, and one of "mighty rise, but uncontrolable fall" by the media.

Driver profile

Mentality

Piastri has been noted by drivers and critics for his composure under pressure. In, Scott Mitchell-Malm of The Race compared his "relaxed intensity" to that of Max Verstappen. Upon winning the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, Luke Smith of The New York Times stated that "stress isn't an emotion one would associate with Piastri. His calm, collected demeanor has been present right from his junior days." This quality prompted several journalists to list him as a favourite for the World Drivers' Championship after the, with Martin Brundle comparing him to Alain Prost. Andrew Benson of BBC Sport stated "combining consistent speed mental solidity and racing decisiveness a formidable rival". After winning the, title rival Verstappen stated "he's very calm in his approach, and I like that. He delivers when he has to, barely makes mistakes—and that's what you need when you want to fight for a championship". As his title battle with teammate Lando Norris emerged, Natalie Pinkham of Top Gear described him as "the cerebral assassin", adding that "he races like he's solving a complex puzzle at ". His composed demeanour has drawn several comparisons to Kimi Räikkönen, widely known as the Iceman.

Development

Piastri has also been lauded for his adaptability, with race engineer Tom Stallard commending his ability to identify flaws in real-time and make improvements without data analysis. His ability to promptly learn from mistakes was initially noted by his engineer in the F4 UAE Championship. Sky Sports described his rookie campaign as "very impressive", noting that his tyre management required improvement. He was noted for his race pace development throughout, as he took his maiden victories in Hungary and Azerbaijan—the latter was described by Luke Smith of The New York Times as a "coming-of-age drive". By, several critics opined that he had eradicated the tyre management and qualifying pace issues he experienced in his earlier seasons; he worked closely with his engineers to solve the former and extensively analysed his past performances to iterate upon the latter.

Personal life

Outside of motor racing, Piastri is interested in video games—particularly Call of Duty—and cooking. He initially adopted the number 11 in kart racing before a rival started using it, prompting his switch to 81 in national competition, junior formulae, and as his personal driver number in Formula One. His racing helmet also originates from his karting career, utilising base colours of red and blue with fluorescent yellow details—modified from off-the-shelf designs—as well as the flag of Australia. He is a supporter of the Melbourne-based Australian rules football club Richmond. He also plays cricket, where he supports the Australia national [cricket team|Australia national team] and the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League—the latter after a social media post asking for recommendations of which team to support; he hosted the national team at the McLaren Technology Centre following the 2025 [ICC World Test Championship final].
Since 2018, Piastri has been in a relationship with his childhood sweetheart, Lily Zneimer, an engineering graduate he met while studying at his sixth form in England. During his early career, he lived in an apartment in proximity to the MTC in Woking, before moving to Monte Carlo in 2024.

Awards and honours

Formula One

FIA Rookie of the Year: 2023
Lorenzo Bandini Trophy: 2025

Other awards

Joe Tandy Memorial Trophy: 2017
Autosport Awards Rookie of the Year: 2020, 2021, 2023
Sir Jack Brabham Award: 2020, 2021, 2024
FIA Rookie of the Year: 2021
Anthoine Hubert Award:
Victorian Sports Awards Young Athlete of the Year: 2021
Best Driver ESPY Award nominee: 2025
Sport Australia [Hall of Fame Awards#The Don Award|The Don Award]: 2025

Karting record

Complete CIK-FIA results

Complete CIK-FIA Karting European Championship results

Racing record

Racing career summary

As Piastri was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results

Complete F4 British Championship results

Complete Formula Renault Northern European Cup results