Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri was born to Chris and Nicole Piastri in Melbourne and grew up in Brighton with his three younger sisters, Hattie, Edie and Mae. His father, Chris, founded the automotive software company HP Tuners and also served as Oscar's kart mechanic during his early racing years. Piastri has described his heritage as including Italian, Yugoslavian and Chinese ancestry on his father's side, as well as Scottish and Irish ancestry on his mother's side.

Piastri attended Haileybury in Melbourne before moving to Haileybury and Imperial Service College in England as a boarding pupil on a sports scholarship. He has been in a relationship with Lily Zneimer since 2018. Outside racing, he enjoys video games, cooking, cricket and Australian rules football, and supports Richmond and the Delhi Capitals.

Piastri began racing radio-controlled cars as a child after receiving a monster truck from his father. He competed in radio-controlled racing from 2008 to 2011, winning a national championship secondary class before moving into karting at the Oakleigh Go Kart Racing Club at age 10. He won multiple Australian junior karting titles and finished sixth in the 2016 CIK-FIA World Championship in the OK-Junior class.

He moved to Europe to develop his career internationally and entered single-seater racing in 2016. Piastri finished as runner-up in the 2017 British F4 Championship with six victories and 15 podiums. After taking three podiums in the 2018 Formula Renault Eurocup, he won the 2019 championship with R-ace GP, securing seven victories and 11 podiums.

Piastri then joined Prema Racing and won the 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship. In 2021, he won the FIA Formula 2 Championship in his rookie season, finishing 60.5 points ahead of teammate Robert Shwartzman. His successive Formula Renault, Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles made him the first driver to win those championships, or their equivalents, in consecutive seasons.

Piastri joined the Renault Sport Academy in 2020 and remained part of the programme after it became the Alpine Academy. He completed Formula One testing for Renault and Alpine, and became Alpine's reserve driver for the 2022 season. He also made himself available as a reserve driver for McLaren during that year.

After Fernando Alonso announced his move to Aston Martin, Alpine announced Piastri as Alonso's replacement for 2023. Piastri publicly rejected the announcement, stating that he had not signed a contract with Alpine and would not drive for the team. The FIA Contract Recognition Board later ruled against Alpine, after which McLaren confirmed Piastri for a 2023 race seat.

Piastri joined McLaren alongside Lando Norris, replacing Daniel Ricciardo. His manager Mark Webber helped negotiate the move. The contract initially extended through at least 2026, and McLaren later extended it through at least the end of 2028.

Piastri made his Formula One debut at the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix. He scored his first points at his home race in Melbourne and took his first podium at the Japanese Grand Prix. He also won the Qatar sprint and finished second in the Qatar Grand Prix, ending his rookie season ninth in the drivers' championship with 97 points. He was named FIA Rookie of the Year for the season.

In 2024, Piastri won his first Grand Prix in Hungary after starting from the front row. He added a second victory in Azerbaijan and finished fourth in the drivers' championship with 292 points. His eight podiums helped McLaren win its first Constructors' Championship since 1998.

Piastri took his first Formula One pole position at the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix and won the race. He went on to win seven Grands Prix during the season, including races in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Miami, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. He led the drivers' championship for much of the campaign before finishing third behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. His seven victories and 16 podiums were records for an Australian Formula One driver.

Piastri has become known for his composure under pressure and his methodical approach to racing. Drivers, engineers and commentators have compared his calm demeanour with that of Max Verstappen, Alain Prost and Kimi Räikkönen. His race engineer Tom Stallard has also praised his ability to identify problems during a race and make improvements without waiting for detailed data analysis.

His early Formula One development focused on tyre management and qualifying pace. He worked closely with McLaren's engineers and studied previous performances to improve both areas. By 2025, his progress in qualifying and tyre management had helped him become a leading contender in the drivers' championship.