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With a win at the 2025 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps, Oscar Piastri tied Daniel Ricciardo with eight Formula 1 race wins. Now, the 24-year-old has his sights on his manager Mark Webber’s total of nine and, more importantly, winning his first Formula One World Championship.
While he still has some achievements to lock in before he challenges Australian F1 greats like Alan Jones and Sir Jack Brabham for the top of the all-time drivers rankings, Oscar Piastri is on track to become the first Australian Formula One World Champion since Alan Jones in 1980. Should he achieve this, his name will go down in history with the greats of Australian motor racing, but some would argue he’s already in that conversation.
Today, we’re taking a retrospective look at the achievements of the greatest Australian F1 drivers. If you want to see how Oscar Piastri compares to the greats in wins, podiums, and points in his short but successful career, read on.
Has There Ever Been an Australian F1 World Champion?
| Year | Champion | Points* | Wins | Podiums |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Jack Brabham | 31 | 2 | 5 |
| 1960 | Jack Brabham | 43 | 5 | 5 |
| 1966 | Jack Brabham | 42 | 4 | 5 |
| 1980 | Alan Jones | 67 | 5 | 10 |
The first Australian F1 driver to win the Formula One World Championship was Sir Jack Brabham.
His first of three titles arrived in 1959 when he won the US Grand Prix at Sebring International Raceway on 12 December 1959 by pushing his rear-engined Cooper T51 across the line. He would then back up his efforts a year later by winning the 1960 title behind the wheel of the Cooper T53, which would also secure the Cooper team a constructors’ title. Six years later, he won the 1966 championship behind the wheel of his own Brabham BT19 and BT20, powered by a 3.0-litre Repco 620 3.0 V8.
Notably, only the best five results from the nine- and ten-race 1959, 1960, and 1966 seasons counted towards the championship. Still, this was no small achievement as Brabham was racing against names like Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, John Surtees, and Jackie Stewart.
The last Australian to win a Formula One World Championship was Alan Jones, who took home the 1980 title behind the wheel of a Williams-Ford FW07 and FW07B. He would beat out names like Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost, and Mario Andretti during the 14-race season, winning five races and scoring five fastest laps. Jones would put up a strong fight in the 1981 season, finishing third in the title race, but with Nelson Piquet, Alain Prost, and Nigel Mansell on the up and up, and Carlos Reutemann in peak form, it was going to be tough to mirror the success of the 1980 season.
Neither Daniel Ricciardo nor Mark Webber won a Formula One World Championship, but Webber managed to finish third in the championship in the 2010, 2011 and 2013 seasons. Ricciardo managed the same in the 2014 and 2016 seasons.
Which Australian F1 Driver Has the Most Race Wins?
| Driver | Total wins | First victory | Win span |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Jack Brabham | 14 | 1959 Monaco GP | 1959‑1970 |
| Alan Jones | 12 | 1977 Austrian GP | 1977‑1981 |
| Mark Webber | 9 | 2009 German GP (Nürburgring) | 2009‑2012 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 8 | 2014 Canadian GP | 2014‑2021 |
| Oscar Piastri | 8 | 2024 Hungarian GP | 2024‑2025 |
Oscar Piastri is on track to secure his first Formula One World Championship in 2025, but he’s still a ways behind Sir Jack Brabham for outright titles.
That said, Oscar has a very good chance of catching Sir Jack for total race wins in the not-so-distant future. Most recently, he tied Daniel Ricciardo with eight race wins after a first-place victory at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. His manager, Mark Webber, is next on the list with nine wins before Alan Jones on 12, and finally, Sir Jack Brabham with 14.
Who Has the Most Podiums?
| Driver | Career podiums | First podium | Most‑recent podium | Podium span |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Jack Brabham | 31 | 1959 Monaco GP (P1) | 1970 British GP (P2) | 1959 – 1970 |
| Alan Jones | 24 | 1977 Austrian GP (P1) | 1981 Caesars Palace GP (P1) | 1977 – 1981 |
| Mark Webber | 42 | 2005 Monaco GP (P3) | 2013 Brazilian GP (P2) | 2005 – 2013 |
| Daniel Ricciardo | 32 | 2014 Spanish GP (P3) | 2021 Italian GP (P1) | 2014 – 2021 |
| Oscar Piastri | 21 | 2023 Japanese GP (P3) | 2025 Belgian GP (P1) | 2023 – 2025 |
| Tim Schenken | 1 | 1971 Austrian GP (P3) | 1971 Austrian GP (P3) | 1971 |
We dislike intergenerational comparisons as much as the next person, but podiums are the toughest to make because of the number of races in a season.
The 1959 F1 season had a total of nine races, while the 2025 F1 season has a total of 24 Grands Prix (six of which include an F1 Sprint race). There are more chances to land a spot on the podium, but we don’t want to take away from just how hard it is for someone like Daniel Ricciardo, Mark Webber, and Oscar Piastri to get a bottle of Champagne in their hands.
With 24 races per F1 season today, Oscar Piastri could easily catch his manager, Mark Webber, within the next two seasons if he continues to win at a high level.
Where Does Oscar Piastri Sit Amongst the All-Time Greats?
With 21 podiums, eight GP wins, and a real chance at the first Formula One World Championship for an Australian F1 driver in more than 40 years, Oscar Piastri could catch Mark Webber and 1980 F1 Champion Alan Jones quickly to become one of the greatest Australian F1 drivers of all time.
If he manages to hold out teammate Lando Norris and win the 2025 World Championship, Piastri would eclipse Jones in the rankings, but where he ranks against Sir Jack Brabham and his pre-ground-effects titles is up for debate.
It will be an accomplishment worth celebrating when he catches his manager, Mark Webber, for podiums and wins. However, Piastri likely has more in the tank than a few wins. Still early in his career, he has the potential for more than a few Formula One World Championships if his car, skill, and a little luck can continue to perform at a high level.
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