Oscar Piastri has secured a F1® seat with McLaren for 2023
Saturday, 3 September 2022
The Melbourne-based driver becomes the 18th Australian in F1®.
Oscar Piastri has secured a seat with McLaren for the 2023 Formula 1® season after spending a year as the Alpine reserve driver.
After the retirement announcement from Sebastian Vettel, speculation began surrounding who would take the Aston Martin seat - few would have suggested Fernando Alonso would be that driver.
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With the Spanish driver leaving Alpine, it seemed inevitable that Piastri would be promoted from the reserve driver role into having a full-time seat with the team in 2023.
After one of the most dramatic driver switch-ups in a while, Piastri turned down the Alpine promotion and instead went looking for a seat with McLaren - which he eventually got.
The 21-year-old from Melbourne has had a stellar career to date, making him one of the most sought-after prospects on the grid and being likened to George Russell and Charles Leclerc.
Piastri has gone from strength to strength in his relatively short career, where he has won three consecutive championships in a row.
In 2019, Oscar raced for R-ace GP in the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup, where he became the first driver to win three races that season and went on to win the championship.
The Australian then found his way into Prema Racing for the 2020 FIA Formula 3™, who were the reigning teams champion. His season was that of consistency with consecutive second-place finishes and a race victory in the second half of the season. Which was enough for him to claim his second consecutive driver's championship in a row.
His best was yet to come, though, after being promoted by Prema Racing to their team in the FIA Formula 2™ for season 2021. Piastri hit the ground running during the season, winning the second race and going on to be on the podium at every one of the 11 rounds of the season. Four feature race wins in a row cemented his championship victory and put him firmly in pole position for a spot on the Formula 1® grid for 2022.
With only one seat on offer, Piastri missed out and was forced to sit the season out but gained the role of reserve driver for Alpine.
It's official! 😁#F1 #OP81 @mclaren pic.twitter.com/CFY3Z1ddrQ
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) September 2, 2022
