Oscar Piastri’s win in Saudi Arabia last weekend took him to the top of the Drivers’ Championship standings. He became the first Australian to lead the standings since Mark Webber—now his manager—back in 2010, making the entire land Down Under proud. But if there’s another country that can take pride in Piastri’s recent success, it’s Italy.
Yes, Piastri is an Aussie through and through. But he also has Italian roots on his father’s side—so it’s only fair to think a few traits might have found their way into him, right?
They could have, but when it comes to one of the most common Italian stereotypes, that of being fiery, expressive, and anything but calm, Piastri is about as non-Italian as they come. Guenther Steiner, who is from Italy himself, pointed this out in a recent episode of the Red Flags Podcast.
Steiner wasn’t taking a dig at Piastri’s Italian heritage. He was simply pointing out the fact that the Melbourne-born driver is one of the most composed drivers on the grid, something which has helped him get the better of his teammate Lando Norris.
“We all see it, he’s so calm about things. So well-behaved. There is nothing which seems to unsettle him. If he finishes second, yeah, he’s not happy but he’s not throwing the toys out,” Steiner said.
“He’s very mature. I’ve always said, talent-wise, they’re [Norris and Piastri] equal. He just stays calm. Whatever happens, he just seems to be very non-Italian.”
Piastri doesn’t need to wear his emotions on his sleeve to be a successful F1 driver. He rarely ever has—even when he won his first-ever Grand Prix in Hungary last year, his celebration was as low-key as it gets. That said, he did admit that he isn’t as calm on the inside as he is on the outside.
First Grand Prix Win. Incredible pic.twitter.com/0DUeySy2VB
— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) July 21, 2024
“I know I come across as very calm but I’m not a robot. I do have peaks and troughs… I’m probably more on the relaxed side of things, but there is definitely being too relaxed too,” the 24-year-old said in an interview last year.
So maybe Piastri does have a bit of Italian expressiveness in him after all. Or perhaps those are traits from the Yugoslavian or Chinese heritage from his father’s side showing through. On his mother’s side, he also carries Scottish and Irish roots—a truly diverse background.
In 2024, he even joked that every race on the calendar felt like a home outing, which led him to start looking for a family in Monaco. Charles Leclerc came to the rescue, joking about adopting Piastri—a moment that sparked running jokes about him being an honorary member of the Leclerc family.
Any Monegasque traits he might’ve picked up since then?
