Best moments of Oscar Piastri’s F1 career including first podium, win and best races

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Oscar Piastri has only enjoyed a short career in Formula 1 so far but has produced some great moments. So, F1 Oversteer has looked into his best events including the Australian’s first win and podium.

Piastri was born and raised in Melbourne and later started his motorsport career in go-karting at just nine years old. He moved to Europe in 2016 to make the switch to junior formulae racing, competing in the British Formula 4 championship and Formula Renault. 

His main rival in British F4 was Logan Sargeant, who Piastri managed to beat to second in the championship after some thrilling duels on track. He would go on to race in Formula Renault Eurocup, taking Piastri’s first title in 2019. 

The Australian graduated to Formula 3 in 2020 where he once again went up against Sargeant, only this time it was for the title. An impressive final round at Mugello saw Piastri win the title by just four points, while Sargeant was knocked back to third after getting beaten by Theo Pourchaire in the final race. 

Piastri switched to F2 in 2021 and he blitzed the field driving for successful junior formulae team PREMA, winning the title by over 60 points to second-placed Robert Shwartzman. 

Yet Piastri was not immediately promoted to F1 in 2022, instead taking on a test and reserve driver role at Alpine. The Renault-owned team later announced Piastri would drive for Alpine in the 2023 season to replace Fernando Alonso but he and McLaren disputed the claim.

Alpine took McLaren to the F1 Contract Recognition Board to resolve their dispute over Piastri but lost. So, he debuted with McLaren in the 2023 season with Piastri replacing compatriot Daniel Ricciardo as the teammate of Lando Norris.

Where did Oscar Piastri make his F1 debut?

Piastri’s first Formula 1 race was the 2023 Bahrain Grand Prix but McLaren endured a difficult start to the season. The Australian could only manage to qualify in P18 to kickstart his career. 

In the race, things got worse for Piastri, too, as his car developed an electrical failure leading to him retiring from the McLaren driver’s Formula 1 debut after just 13 laps on the track. 

When did Oscar Piastri take his first podium finish in F1?

Piastri’s rookie season improved later in the 2023 campaign as McLaren’s car became more competitive with updates he first received at the British Grand Prix. Although they were no match for the dominant Red Bull RB19, McLaren still conjured up some decent results. 

The run of races between the Japanese Grand Prix and the Qatar Grand Prix were McLaren’s most competitive streak in 2023, with Piastri earning his first podium in Formula 1 at Suzuka after finishing in third behind teammate Norris.

Piastri had initially qualified in second place but lost out to Norris at the start of the race. His teammate then gave chase to Max Verstappen, leading to Piastri consolidating third place and with it securing his first podium.

It would be a back-to-back affair for Piastri, too, who went on to finish in second place in the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix just 4.833 seconds behind race-winner Verstappen and 1.136s ahead of Norris in third.

Which race did Oscar Piastri win his first F1 Sprint at? 

Piastri won an F1 Sprint before he won his first Grand Prix after sealing a win in his rookie Formula 1 season with McLaren in 2023. 

The Australian qualified on pole position for the Qatar Sprint and secured his first victory but it was not a straightforward lights-to-flag effort. 

Mercedes driver George Russell stole the lead of the Qatar Sprint away from Piastri into Turn 6 on Lap 3 of 19 after starting on soft tyres, compared to the McLaren pilot running mediums.

But Piastri regained the lead on Lap 11 as he sailed past Russell with DRS and pulled away as the Briton’s soft tyres began to degrade.

The 2023 Qatar Grand Prix would also prove to be a tough race for the drivers after the FIA told them to stay off the kerbs due to the risk of tyre blowouts at high speed after Pirelli studied its data from practice. 

It was the first time F1 had raced at the Lusail International Circuit since introducing 18-inch wheels, having skipped the race in 2022 due to Qatar hosting the FIFA World Cup.

In the race, drivers would also suffer from extreme heat due to a combination of the mandated stint lengths of 18 laps and hot conditions. 

When did Oscar Piastri win his first race in F1?

Piastri had to wait until the 2024 season to win his first Formula 1 race at the Hungarian Grand Prix. But the Australian’s victory at the Hungaroring was overshadowed by team orders.

McLaren were emerging as a contender for the drivers’ and constructors’ championships after Norris beat Verstappen in Miami and came close to victories in Spain and Austria. 

Norris also qualified on pole in Hungary with Piastri alongside the Briton on the front row with Verstappen behind. But knowing it is a difficult track to overtake, the Australian took the inside line and overtook Norris into Turn 1. 

Later on in the race McLaren tried to preserve their one-two by pitting Norris first to cover off Hamilton but he effectively undercut Piastri and emerged ahead on the road following the Melbourne native’s stop.

McLaren pled with Norris during the 2024 Hungarian GP to give Piastri the lead back having unfairly gained an advantage by pitting first. The Briton, who was Verstappen’s main title rival, initially refused but eventually obliged after proving he had superior pace.

Piastri crossed the line 2.1 seconds ahead of Norris, taking his maiden F1 victory and securing McLaren’s first one-two finish since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. 

Which was Oscar Piastri’s best race in Formula 1?

Piastri would go on to take his second Formula 1 race victory at the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix around the Baku Street Circuit. 

The Australian qualified in second behind Charles Leclerc and sat behind the Ferrari driver for 20 laps before making a move down the long DRS zone on the start/finish straight. Piastri ignored McLaren to overtake Leclerc in Baku with the team concerned about his tyre wear.

Although it seemed like the job was done for Piastri, he faced immense pressure from Leclerc throughout the rest of the race. The Ferrari driver came close but the McLaren racer was able to pull away on the straights. 

It later transpired that McLaren were using a trick ‘Mini DRS’ wing which was then banned by a Technical Directive, leading to the team having to take it off their car for the following race in Singapore after a protest from Red Bull and Ferrari.