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Formula 1 history would not be the same without legendary Australian drivers such as Jack Brabham and Alan Jones, which leads us to the next generation of Aussie superstar — Oscar Piastri.
It’s been 44 years since an Aussie last claimed the Formula 1 Drivers’ Championship, with Jones leading the now-famed Williams team to glory in 1980.
Now Piastri, an undeniable budding star at just 23 years old, is ready to make his mark. He’s not letting anyone, even his own teammate, get in his way.
Piastri sat down with BroBible for an exclusive interview recently and discussed his rapid ascent to stardom, his maiden Formula 1 victory last month at the Hungaroring, and a slew of other topics.
Oscar Piastri Is Ready To Win More Formula 1 Races
“It’s a nice confidence boost,” Piastri said of his controversial win in Hungary, which involved a late-race, team-order swap of positions with teammate Lando Norris. “I’m still trying to prove myself and learn as much as I can … But it’s nice to be able to call yourself an F1 grand prix winner.”
Piastri likely isn’t done winning, both in his career and this season.
His McLaren team has mounted a sudden and forceful challenge to Formula 1’s preeminent power, Red Bull, in the race for the constructors championship. McLaren sits only 42 points back of Red Bull with 10 races remaining and has outscored its rival in each of the last four races.
And Piastri says that his team isn’t backing down from the fight.
“We talk about it very openly, to be honest,” he said. “It’s certainly our goal and our target. We’ve closed the gap to Red Bull a lot since Miami, and it would be silly to not aim for it.”
Piastri Not ‘Naive’ Of Eventual On-Track Battles With Teammate Lando Norris
While the team is focused to the constructors championship, Piastri’s teammate Norris may well have other aims.
The 24-year-old Briton sits 78 points behind three-time reigning champion Max Verstappen and appears to be ascending when it comes to a genuine title challenge. That challenge came under scrutiny in Hungary, where Norris took the lead from Piastri due to strategy and then refused to cede the position for several laps, which caused friction within the team and between the two drivers before he eventually relented.
Piastri says he envisions future battles with Norris for race victories. But he believes that they won’t let their hunger for individual success supersede the success of the team.
“I think we just have a very healthy culture in the team,” Piastri said of how to keep both drivers happy. “I’m not naive. I know that when you fight for wins and championships as a driver, then you want to do everything you can, if possible.
“But I think we both know that we can’t do that at the sacrifice of the team or the sacrifice of trust in the team.”
Piastri is prepared for the fight. But he says that he refuses to let a potential battle with Norris set McLaren back.
“It would be naive of us and immature of us to really start focusing all our attention on each other because we’ve still got a lot of other competition out there.”
McLaren Is Here To Stay Despite 2026 Regulation Changes
McLaren’s rise to the front of the grid hasn’t been easy, nor swift. The storied outfit has 185 victories in Formula 1, second only to Ferrari, but it had not won for nearly three years prior to Norris’ victory in Miami earlier this season.
Piastri says that confidence within the team still remained high going into the new season.
“I think, for me, the big first step forward was about this time last year at Silverstone, where we had two cars in the top three in qualifying and finished second and fourth in the race,” he said. “…That was kind of nothing short of a miracle result at that point. But it was earned by merit, which was very exciting.”
Despite the turnaround, McLaren could see all its hard work undone in the coming years. Beginning in 2026, Formula 1 is set for a massive change in regulations that will see each team bring entirely new cars to the grid.
Piastri isn’t concerned about the change!
“Even with these regulations, in 2022 the team was okay. The start of 2023, we were not great, and we’ve managed to completely turn it around in a year, basically,” he said. “…I think everyone’s gained a lot of confidence in the team that what we’re doing now is potentially world championship-winning.”
A Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship Is Oscar Piastri’s ‘Biggest Dream’
What would winning a world championship, the first in over four decades for an Aussie, mean to Piastri? He struggled to put it into words.
“It would be, kind of, my biggest dream ticked,” Piastri said of becoming a world champion. “I’m sure for the country it would be a very special thing as well. As Australians, we love our sport. We’re very good at getting behind our athletes on the world stage. So hopefully it would be very special for them as well.”
Barring a comeback unlike anything we’ve ever seen in the sport, Piastri will not win a drivers’ championship in 2024. But there is a growing, undeniable feeling that his time is coming. And nothing – not Verstappen, regulation changes, or even his teammate – is going to get in the way.