Regarded as one of the most promising junior drivers in motor sport, Oscar Piastri is an Australian talent under the Alpine Academy umbrella.
He has taken three-consecutive junior titles on his rise through the ranks: Formula Renault Eurocup (2019), FIA Formula 3 (2020), and FIA Formula 2 (2021). Despite his clear talents, Piastri is the reserve driver for the Alpine Formula 1 team in 2022.
Born in Melbourne, Australia, Piastri’s racing career began in karting in 2011. He rose through the ranks in Australia and began competing in Europe in 2015 though never claimed a title.
His best finish in karts came in 2016 when he finished that season’s CIK-FIA World Championship — OKJ series sixth overall.
In 2017, he moved up to take on British F4, scoring two podiums across the season and ending up sixth in the championship once more.
The following year, he switched to Formula Renault Eurocup where he scored a season-best finish of second and ended up ninth in the championship. For 2018, he switched to the reigning team’s champions, R-ace GP.
From 2019, Piastri began to find instant success no matter where he went. He won his first single-seater title that season, beating Victor Martins to the championship.
Piastri’s levels of success then followed a similar path to those of George Russell and Charles Leclerc, achieving back-to-back titles in F3 and F2.
In 2020, Piastri overcame rivals Théo Pourchaire and Logan Sergeant to win the Formula 3 title by three points from the Frenchman.
The following season, he graduated to Formula 2 with PREMA where he once again fought as a rookie to claim the crown. He secured six wins across the season and a further five podiums along the way, comfortably topping the table by 60.5 points.
Despite winning the junior F3 and F2 categories in his rookie season, Piastri was left without a Formula 1 drive for 2022. Fernando Alonso’s return and subsequent contract extension with Alpine has blocked the Australian’s path.
For now, Piastri will fulfill the role of reserve driver for the team in 2022.
His future in Formula 1 looks to be largely dependent on whether or not Alonso chooses to stay with Alpine beyond the 2022 season. But that’s not to say other team’s won’t come knocking for Piastri in the future should he find himself without a drive for 2023.