‘I’m Just Getting Started’: Oscar Piastri on His Groundbreaking F1 Season

Oscar Piastri is on a tear. At just 24 years of age, the Aussie young gun is on the cusp of sporting greatness, sitting 31 points clear of his closest rival and McLaren Racing teammate, Lando Norris, atop the Formula 1 Drivers’ Standings. It’s a position entirely foreign to him. Just three years ago, the rising star was stuck on the sidelines, watching the racing world pass him by. Now, he’s leading the pack.

You couldn’t script a story like Oscar Piastri’s. A burgeoning star whose calculated approach to racing saw him dominate junior divisions, the Victorian always seemed destined for an F1 seat. Successive championship titles in FIA Formula 3 and FIA Formula 2 proved he had what it took to make it in the sport’s most prestigious category, but he would have to be patient. Parked behind Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon, Piastri was third in Alpine Racing’s pecking order. His role as reserve driver saw him spend more time on the simulator than behind the wheel. For the perennial overachiever, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

“It was obviously not ideal to spend a year on the sidelines, and I’d much rather have been out there racing,” Piastri tells me ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, “but I just tried to make the best of it and get myself in the best shape possible ahead of 2023.”

“I learnt a lot about all of the off-track commitments expected of an F1 driver and got some valuable training blocks in the bank. That experience has held me in good stead during this first part of my Formula 1 career.”

As Piastri coyly alludes, the past few years have been far kinder. A highly publicised move to McLaren Racing at the end of the 2022 season saw him thrust into the harshest of spotlights, and after a disjointed start to his maiden Formula 1 campaign, the Aussie talent adjusted. By the midway point of his debut season, Piastri was firing on all cylinders. He snagged his first Grand Prix podium at the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix; just his 17th start in the big time. He later won the FIA Rookie of the Year award, but he was far from done.

Piastri’s Season of Dominance

At the beginning of the 2025 Formula 1 season, expectations for McLaren Racing were sky-high. Touted as having the most promising young team and arguably the fastest car on the grid, both Piastri and teammate Lando Norris faced immense pressure to perform. They didn’t disappoint.

At the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, the dynamic duo qualified 1-2, with Norris securing pole position. Come race day, the biggest battle was between teammates. Piastri bettered Norris for much of the opening half, but as the rain tumbled down on the Albert Park Circuit, the hometown hero faltered. On lap 44, Piastri slipped off track from P2, tumbling from first to 13th in an instant. He recovered to finish ninth, but it was a painful end to a promising start.

Just one week later, he would make amends. At the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai, Piastri dominated qualifying, taking his maiden pole before securing a calculated victory in the main race. His top-of-the-podium finish ahead of championship favourite Norris kick-started a period of dominance that saw Piastri move from second fiddle to star attraction.

The Aussie has won a whopping seven Grand Prix this year, with his recent victory at Circuit Zandvoort seeing him leapfrog Daniel Ricciardo on the list of winniest Australian drivers. With nine GPs under his belt, the 24-year-old is tied with his manager Mark Webber for third on the list, behind only Sir Jack Brabham and Alan Jones. When I ask him where on that list he thinks he’ll ultimately finish, Piastri responds with a trademark reservedness.

“I’ve not really thought about that,” he says. “I’ve only done two and a half seasons, so my full concentration is on enjoying it and maximising my results as much as possible. I’m sure much later in my career, I will look back, but for now I’m looking forward as I’m only just getting started.”

Piastri now holds a commanding lead in the Drivers’ Standings, and with just eight races left, the temptation to go into defensive mode is obvious. Playing it safe might keep him near the top, but as the young gun explains, it’s not his style. His natural driving technique has carried him this far, so why change?

“I just drive the way I’ve always driven and will continue to do so. I’ve been very happy with my driving recently and the pace and all-around consistency has been very pleasing,” he says. “I’ve been leading the Drivers’ Championship since Saudi Arabia and I will be driving flat out until the final lap in Abu Dhabi. The aim is to maximise every chance for more race wins.”

Fuelling Success

Piastri’s success this year has been irrefutable. The young star has silenced his doubters and shown that McLaren Racing is the team to beat. Even amid car updates and the ever-shifting regulations of Formula 1, Piastri remains refreshingly unfazed.

“It’s something fairly normal in motorsport,” Piastri explains. “Every driver needs to adapt to slight changes and updates on the car, so it’s not something we think about too much. It happens so regularly that it’s just part of it. Usually, the new parts or updates help us go quicker, so it’s all positive.”

Just as McLaren Racing’s engineers constantly adjust car elements, eager to achieve the best performance, so too is Piastri. The Formula 1 driver has significantly improved his fitness and race strength since coming into the top division, focusing on resistance training that provides real-life applications when in the hot seat. Second to that has been a shift towards a higher-protein, lower-sugar diet.

Piastri has been steadily refining his food intake, prioritising nutrient-dense foods that offer long-lasting energy. While that might sound like he’s implementing a strict no-carbohydrate, no-oil, no-fun regime, nothing could be further from the truth. In actual fact, the McLaren Racing star is going all-in on burgers.

For the second time, Piastri has teamed up with Australian fast-casual chain Grill’d to release a specially curated burger meal. The limited-edition protein-packed Oscar Piastri 81 burger and pack is crafted using the driver’s personal favourites and delivers 13 essential vitamins and minerals. Better yet, it marks the official introduction of Grill’d’s new high-performance menu, which features new chicken and lamb creations.

“I’m really excited to be relaunching my burger,” Piastri tells me. “I got a lot of positive feedback earlier in the year when it first launched. I’ve been a fan of Grill’d for a long time and it’s great that the product is low in sugar and high in protein. I’m a big fan of the taste.”

The Little Details

For Piastri, the next three months will undoubtedly be the biggest of his young life. Just seven Grand Prix separate the Aussie from sporting greatness and a permanent spot in Formula 1’s most prestigious club. For now, he sits pretty atop the leaderboard, but as he learned in Melbourne earlier this year, things can change in a heartbeat.

Whatever happens, you can be sure of one thing: Piastri will not stop. The 24-year-old is a true student of the sport, constantly searching for the next improvement, the tiny morsel of progress that will elevate his performance. It’s an undeniable compulsion that only comes, he says, when you truly love what you’re doing.

“We’ve practised our whole lives for moments like that, so it’s just total focus on executing all the small details,” he says. “There is no better feeling than pulling out of the pit lane on low fuel and pushing the car to the max in qualifying on a hot lap. It’s the best feeling in racing. I love that feeling.”