- McLaren driver Oscar Piastri set back his parents’ $6.5 million
- They spent this amount since he was six years old
- He is now a driver for McLaren
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri set back his parents’ $6.5 million for him to get to F1.
As he returns home to race in the Australian Grand Prix, his parents are proud of him seeing that he has made tremendous progress in his career.
Born and raised in Melbourne, Piastri’s love for cars had him hooked to remote-control vehicle racing and later advanced to Oakleigh Go-Karting club in 2011.
The McLaren driver won the Eurocup, Formula 3 and Formula 2 Championships in subsequent years eyeing Formula 1. Eventually, he made it to the top 10 in the grid which is a huge show five McLaren’s build quality.
Here is his journey to the top.
HOW DID OSCAR PIASTRI START HIS RACING CAREER?
Oscar Piastri F1 parents’ Chris and Nicole Piastri recall that their song had untold love for motor since he was young. His father, a software developer his son was obsessed with cars at a young age.
McLaren driver Oscar Piastri. Photo/Motorsport
His bedtime readings mostly consisted of autobiographies and a young Piastri could even list the horsepower, speed, and other specifications of his favourite models off-hand.
At one time, Chris flew to America for business and got his son several remote-controlled cars. This gave Piastri his first racing feel.
“We bought remote-controlled cars when I was on a business trip in America and Oscar took to that incredibly. He started racing them and got third place in his first-ever event against 20 and 30-year-olds when he was just six,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald in 2021.
Racing with remote-controlled cars continued to the top-most level and came second when he was nine.
GO-KART RACING
Oakleigh Go-Kart Racing Club became put Oscar Piastri F1 dream close when he was only nine and his parents saw his potential. He already had an idea of how to manoeuvre from his remote-control car racing and this made him stand out.
His father remarks that he saw his son’s wide grin for the first time since birth the minute they walked to the go-karting club.
James Sera, a former Australian karting champion mentored Piastri’s in his early days in karting and he admits that the young man was gifted in a special way.
“From day one, he was always destined for something like this,’ Sera told Fairfax. “He was nine or 10. He was young, but he just had something that none of the other kids had. He was very smooth, he knew the lines so quickly.”
Energetic, talented, and confident; Piastri edged out older teenagers and turned pro at 13. Before then, he made it to third position in the international karting race at the storied Le Mans track. His name became so famous as a go-karting champion set for a bigger racing stage on the global level.
HOW DID OSCAR PIASTRI F1 JOIN THE GRID?
He flew to the United Kingdom when he was 15 to study at the Haileybury College. He entered the F4 UAE Championship in 2016 at the age of 15 and quickly found his footing. Piastri earned two podium places and finished sixth overall despite participating in very few races.
In 2017, he made a significant improvement, finishing second in the British F4 Championship. Alan Jones, the last Australian to win the F1 Drivers Championship, praised Piastri’s performance and noted how determined he was to succeed.
Oscar Piastri (AUS) Alpine F1 Team Reserve Driver.
24.02.2022. Formula One Testing, Day Two, Barcelona, Spain. Thursday.
Photo credit should read: XPB/Press Association Images.
Jones said that with the Australian-born F1 driver agreeing to relocate to the UK to pursue his dreams showed his desire for greatness. His determination paid off handsomely years later.
At 17, Oscar Piastri F1 call came a step closer after joining Formula Renault and he worked his way up to R-ace GP, where he won the Drivers Championship in 2019. It is then that his father with the assistance or Mark Webber – a former Australian F1 driver – and his wife Anne helped him get closer to F1.
Webber helped him excel in F3 and F2. His mark in F3 bagged him two wins and four podium finishes and another five victories in F2 making him a champion. He eventually got to F1 but it wasn’t cheap.
His father said he started spending on his son’s future since his remote-controlled racing cars which cost his software development company $10,000 annually. Upon graduating to go-karting, he spent a maximum of 75,000 every year.
Then, karting in Europe cost him $500,000 while F3 and F2 seasons in the UK cost millions of dollars. His first F1 team was Alpine where he was a reserve driver but left controversially for McLaren where he is among the team’s first drivers racing in 2023.
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