Oscar Piastri’s long-awaited F1 debut was a disappointment as his McLaren team faced a challenging start to the racing season. Despite starting at the 18th position, the young driver displayed a promising performance at the Bahrain Grand Prix, quickly gaining three places.
However, Piastri’s race came to an abrupt end on lap 14 when he was forced to enter the pits due to a car issue. Unfortunately, after a steering wheel replacement, the vehicle failed to restart, putting an end to Piastri’s debut.
The Australian racer was understandably disheartened by the outcome, but he remains optimistic about his future in F1. Despite the setback, Piastri has demonstrated his potential and showcased his skills on the track.
What’s in this Guide?
Oscar Piastri’s route to Formula One
Like Daniel Ricciardo before him, Oscar Piastri’s route to Formula One was not the conventional one. Born in Melbourne to Italian-Australian parents, Piastri made his name as a youth in the junior world of karting before moving to Europe and finding success there – then climbing the youth ladder in similar fashion to Brit hopeful George Russell.
Karting, Formula 4 and Formula Renault EuroCup
Starting in 2011, he went professional in 2014 at the tender age of 13 and achieved a number of titles in various Australian championships. From 2015 onward, Piastri was competing in European and other CIK-FIA sanctioned championships with Ricky Flynn Motorsport.
A year later, in 2016, the Piastri made his single-seater debut when competing in certain rounds of the Formula 4 UAE Championship with Dragon F4, achieving 2 podium finishes in and early showing of his on track skills. This led to a place on British F4’s TRS Arden Junior Formulas team for 2017, again showing his excellent prowess by claiming 6 wins and 6 pole positions, eventually coming runner up in the championship.
Moving into the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2018, it only took 2 seasons for Piastri to claim his first title – with reigning team champions R-ace GP. But he was just getting started.
Formula 3 and Formula 2 championship
A year after winning his EuroCup title Piastri joined Formula 3’s reigning champions Prema Racing. The Prema team wouldn’t regret their new recruit as he won the first round of the season despite a collision at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
Piastri won a back-and-forth, wheel to wheel season in his debut year after a series of circuit wins, especially during his first sprint race season. After an incredibly close season finale, which saw Piastri level on points with title rival and teammate Logan Sargeant, it was all decided via a sprint race and it did not disappoint – Sargeant crashed out on lap one and Piastri finished seventh to claim the Formula 3 title.
Piastri has made a name for his good celebrating – but is not one to rest on his laurels, moving forward to the next step in his career in no time.
The Australian champion moved swiftly up to Formula 2, continuing with the Prema team, replacing legend Michael Schumacher’s son Mick in the second-tier FIA championship season in 2021.
You’d expect nothing less at this point – Piastri took to his new race seat with aplomb, winning his first race in the second round of the season by overtaking future Formula 1 driver Guanyu Zhou (a fellow Alpine Academy driver) in the process.
Oscar Piastri became part of an elite club when he took the F2 title championship at Yas Marina, finishing the season having won 6 races – more than any other driver. Upon winning the F2 title, Piastri joined an elite club by winning at his first attempt, joining names such as Charles LeClerc and George Russell in Formula 2.
Formula One Renault Sports Academy and McLaren
Piastri joined the Formula 1 Renault Sports Academy in January 2020, and won a place on a young drivers’ test in Bahrain in October 2020 after winning his Formula 3 championship. In 2021 he found himself part of the rebranded Alpine Academy prior to his Formula 2 season.
Fastforward to 2022 and Piastri is reserve driver for Alpine’s Formula 1 team. Though this means he’s not a mainstay on the grid, he’s very much involved in the team’s intended success and can look forward to a place in Formula 1 in the coming years. Having completely transcended his own ability on race weekends since Formula 3, it won’t be long before Piastri is seen racing against the likes of Max Verstappen and Charles LeClerc.
Oscar Piastri is not only reserve driver for Alpine, but also taken on the reserve driver role for the McLaren F1 team, too – a sure sign that his trackside experience is due to grow and it won’t be long before he’s winning races in Formula 1 too.
Other F1 drivers
While you’re here, don’t forget to read our other driver reviews.
How to watch Formula One
FeaturedFormula 1 is available to watch in Australia via a number of options. There’s plenty of track action to get super excited about, so you don’t want to miss it.
Which streaming services will show the F1 GP?
Below is a complete list of sports streaming services that will show all the Formula 1 races accessible for viewing in Australia. If other providers provide the Formula 1 Grand Prix races further down the line, the below list will be updated.
| Races | Streaming service |
|---|---|
| All live (excluding Australian GP) | Foxtel / Kayo |
| Replay, Stats, highlights only | F1 TV |
| Australian GP live ; All other 22 races are highlights only | Channel 10 |
How to watch the Formula 1 season?
As Formula One journeys from country to country around the world, you can watch every race in any way that suits you. Many sport TV providers offer comprehensive coverage of F1 live.
Every single Formula One weekend will be broadcast on Fox Sports (Kayo/Foxtel) in Australia. There are several providers that will allow you to access Fox Sports on your home TV or compatible device. Discover how to access Fox Sports below.
Stream Formula One with Kayo
Kayo Sports streaming service gives you access to 14 dedicated sports channels including Fox Sports 506 – meaning you can watch every Formula One race live or on demand at a time that suits you. Kayo offer a 7-day free trial to new customers so you can check it out before committing to a plan. Kayo Sports is available for $25/month (basic plan) or $35/month (premium plan) after the free trial period ends.
Live stream Formula One with Foxtel
The Foxtel Now streaming service also offer Fox Sports 506, included in their Sports Pack – meaning you get access to F1 as well as everything else Fox Sports has to offer, including BeIN and ESPN. Foxtel Now also offer a 10 day free trial to new customers, which you can take advantage of to watch the Formula One.
To get the Sports Pack ($29/month) you must first subscribe to the Essential Pack option ($25/month). This means that watching F1 and TV entertainment after your trial will cost a total of $54 per month.
Watch Formula One Grand Prix with Telstra
If you’re a Telstra customer, you can benefit from awesome deals for watching Formula One on both Kayo Sports and Foxtel Now. Telstra’s Kayo Offer offers a discount of $10 per month on either Kayo basic or premium plan with Kayo Sports, providing excellent value. Telstra also provide a Foxtel Now offer that gives you the first month free, meaning you can access all of channel packs, including Sports, for free. The Kayo from Telstra offer also lasts for 12 months, which is ideal for the entire F1 season.
Free to Air Formula One Highlights
Channel 10 offers free viewing of the Formula One GP in our home country, as well as free highlights of every other race on the calendar This means that every Monday evening following the race on Sunday (with the exception of the Australian GP), one-hour shortened highlights of every race are free to watch.
Try out Free To Air TV Guide for Channel 10 and keep up to date with what’s currently on TV.
F1 TV Australia
F1 TV is an official Formula One streaming channel that gives fans a close-up view of the Formula 1 experience each race weekend. From pit lane drama to interviews with drivers – and even radio comms not shown on TV – they offer endless entertainment.
Although the live feature (F1 TV Pro) isn’t available on their service in Australia, they are packed with over 650 archived races, documentaries and more all available on demand. F1 TV is available for $4.49/month or $34.99 for the whole year.
