Forbes recently released its list of the 30 most influential people in Australia, and among the athletes who made the cut, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri’s name stood out to the F1 community.
Piastri, who made a name for himself in motorsports at the junior level, has lived up to his promise since moving to F1 in 2023, winning multiple races and competing with the best at the front on a daily basis.
In his interview with Forbes, the Melbourne-born driver took a trip down memory lane. He spoke about his ambitions from when he was in karting, aspiring to make it big someday.
“I always dreamt of one day making it to F1,” Piastri revealed. “But as a young karter, there are so many hurdles along the way through all the junior categories that until I got closer to F1 and it looked probable that I would win the F2 Championship in 2021, it was still more of a dream.”
“I just feel extremely privileged to be doing something I love. Every driver on the grid wants to become World Champion, so of course that is the main ambition,” he added.
Oscar Piastri is on Forbes Australia’s 30 under 30 !!
What is this picture though pic.twitter.com/hnCEeF6d6o
— Katie ️ (@oscdocs81) October 14, 2024
Piastri won three championships in three years—Formula Renault, F3, and F2—before earning his shot at F1 with McLaren. Since arriving in the paddock, his popularity has skyrocketed, especially in Australia, a country eager for a new F1 hero following the recent decline of its former star, Daniel Ricciardo.
This explains why he got named in Forbes’ prestigious list, under the sports category, which also included Ariarne Titmus, Mary Fowler, and Jess Fox.
By winning two races and helping McLaren get close to winning the Constructors’ title, Piastri has made Australia proud. While he can’t quite aim for the Drivers’ Championship himself yet, he has vowed to do everything he can to aid Lando Norris.
Piastri will do all he can to help Norris
While McLaren holds a comfortable gap behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ Championship standings, the same can’t be said for Norris’ battle against Max Verstappen for the Drivers’ title.
The Briton entered the US Grand Prix weekend with a 52-point deficit to Verstappen, and even finished one place ahead of him in the Grand Prix. Unfortunately, the stewards gave Norris a penalty for gaining advantage off track, which lost him that position. Now, the gap is 57.
Norris can close down the gap to Verstappen in the coming five race weekends, but he would need his teammate to help him. Thankfully for Norris, Piastri has agreed to do just that.
️ “The car performance is so strong”
Oscar Piastri believes he can help out team-mate Lando Norris because the car is in a good place to take points off other drivers ️ pic.twitter.com/OF10s3flgo
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) October 17, 2024
However, the 23-year-old also admitted that he wouldn’t unreasonably sacrifice his own position by dropping multiple places just to help Norris gain an extra point or two.
Piastri himself, is in a good position to finish in the top three of the Championship standings, maybe even the top two. He is 50 behind Norris, a smaller gap than what Norris has with Verstappen in front of him.
