Australian prodigy Oscar Piastri registers maiden Formula 2 victory

Oscar Piastri’s rapid rise has continued, with the Australian racing prodigy registering his break through Formula 2 victory.

Oscar Piastri of Australia and Prema Racing.

Australian racing prodigy Oscar Piastri has registered his maiden Formula 2 victory at the Bahrain International Circuit over the weekend.

The 19-year-old made global headlines last year after winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship with Prema Racing.

Piastri was subsequently promoted to the second tier series for 2021, and got his season off to a flyer by winning Saturday evening’s 23-lap sprint race in Sakhir.

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The Melbourne driver only took the lead at Turn 1 on the final lap, going past Denmark’s Christian Lundgaard and China’s Guanyu Zhou.

Following a pit stop, Piastri incredibly went from ninth to first across the event’s final six laps.

“Oh my god,” Piastri yelled after crossing the finish line. “If you don’t love F2, I think you do now. Holy s**t.”

OSCAR PIASTRI WINSSSSSSSS!!!!!

Amazing! Simply amazing racing! 🤩 #BahrainGP 🇧🇭 #F2pic.twitter.com/azaxvIGSDP

— Formula 2 (@Formula2) March 27, 2021

Speaking to reporters after the win, Piastri said: “Regardless of whether it’s the second race or the last race I complete in F2, that’s got to go down as the craziest race I’ve ever had, and the craziest victory I’ve ever had.

“I can’t thank the team enough, obviously the pit stop at the end was the right move. Then I made some good moves and put myself in a good spot, and here we are on the top step.

“Full credit to Prema, they called ‘box’ and I did my first ever pit stop. That was pretty daunting, and I pulled off a few good moves at the end and here we are on the top step.”

Oscar Piastri of Australia and Prema Racing.

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Having placed fifth in Sakhir’s first sprint race, Piastri currently leads the FIA Formula 2 Championship after two events, narrowly ahead of Red Bull Racing’s Jehan Daruvala.

The Aussie teenager’s rapid rise could see him joining countryman Daniel Ricciardo in the F1 sooner than expected.

The Feature Race at the Bahrain International Circuit is scheduled to commence on Sunday evening at 9:40pm AEDT.