Oscar Piastri’s go-karting rivals pull back the curtain on the F1 superstar’s early days
From his early days in go-karting, Oscar Piastri had the same mentality he’s used to become Formula 1’s stone-cold killer. His friends from those early days pull back the curtain on the Australian.
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Supercars stars have lifted the visor on their experience racing Oscar Piastri in karting with his former teammate Bryce Fullwood describing a “wildly fast” young driver whose “cool, calm and collected” personality hasn’t changed on the path to Formula 1.
Now campaigning for Brad Jones Racing in Supercars, Fullwood fondly recalled his time as a teammate of the McLaren star racing with karting guru James Sera before Piastri made the move to Europe to further his motorsport career.
Three years older than Piastri, Fullwood was already well-established in karting as the now Formula 1 championship leader was emerging through the ranks.
“I am a little bit older than Oscar, so I was probably in my last two or three years of karts,” Fullwood, 27, said.
“We probably raced three years together and we were teammates, both racing with James Sera at the time. We did a lot of racing together.
“When you are racing go-karts it is much more than just racing, you stay at the same hotel, you all go out to dinner together, so we spent a lot of time with them and Oscar’s family.
“There were a lot of weekends away racing …. he’s a really good guy and I feel lucky to have had those memories with him.”
While Piastri’s motorsport journey was then in its infancy, Fullwood said the raw speed and characteristics that now have the Melbourne-born racer in the hunt for the Formula 1 world title were already clear.
“Oscar has not changed much for those that know him. He has always been a very cool, calm and collected character,” Fullwood said.
“He was still young and coming through the ranks a bit I suppose, whereas I was a bit older and on my way a little bit.
“He was still learning, but he was always very fast. His race craft at the time when he was young, he would be wildly fast and if he got out in front and people gave him some time to relax and get himself under control, they wouldn’t see which way he went.
“But he often got gobbled up in the pack because he wasn’t a very aggressive racer early on in his karting days. But he was definitely fast.
“The biggest thing I found with Oscar compared to anyone else I raced with is he was always looking for speed even when he thought there wasn’t any to be found.
“I could follow him around the race track and he would be all good and then the next lap, he would just go faster through a corner and then fly straight off the road.
“I’m like ‘What are you doing, Oscar?’ And not a little bit off the road, I’m talking three metres off the road … I think it’s because he was second guessing himself to go, ‘Can I go faster?’”
Now in his third season in F1, Piastri holds a 16-point lead in the championship standings over his McLaren teammate Lando Norris after winning four of the first six grand prix.
Piastri has drawn praise for his mental strength and no-nonsense approach to his racing from rivals and commentators alike and Fullwood said the driver fans see on the broadcast was exactly the same as a young go-karter.
“I think where I see the similarities in him is that his personality on TV is exactly the same as he was as a 12-year-old kid. He has not changed one bit,” Fullwood said.
“(He’s) really humble and down to earth guy, comes from a really humble family. I don’t think he is there to buy into some of the fashion and all the other nonsense that goes on in F1, he is just there to drive the car and do a good job.
“I think people are refreshed to see that from him.”
Piastri’s stunning start to the year has fuelled hopes of the 24-year-old becoming Australia’s first Formula 1 world champion in 45 years and Fullwood backed him to get the job done.
“Oscar is so head strong, not cocky in any way, but has so much self-belief for himself, really good at converting and just getting the job done and that’s where his strength is going to be,” Fullwood said.
“He is ultra-fast, but he is just relentless at not making mistakes.
“We saw the start of that in karts, but he has refined that over the years and he has become a really strong, confident guy that knows he is capable of doing the job and we have seen some of the drives that he has had have been spectacular.
“I couldn’t be more happy for him and his family.”
‘GO AND WIN THIS CHAMPIONSHIP’
Defending Supercars champion Will Brown recalled racing Piastri at a meet at Lismore, but got to know him better later on while holidaying with former Supercars driver Jack Smith.
“He was a couple of years younger than me so I think I only raced against Oscar once, which was at the Lismore Young Guns, I think it was called,” Brown said.
“I remember racing Oscar down there, I think we actually had a run-in down there, just on track, a little bit of bumping and it happens.
“Apart from that, I really got to know Oscar a little bit later in the scene. Jack Smith has a holiday house at Yarrawonga and we used to go there and Oscar Piastri’s family has one there as well so I saw him up there a couple of times. He has got a great family and he is a great guy. You can see from his attitude that he is pretty laid back.”
Brown said Piastri had sent him a message of congratulations after the Triple Eight star won his maiden Supercars’ title last year.
“He messaged me at the end of last year to say, ‘Congratulations on the championship’ and I sent him a message the other day saying ‘Go and win this (F1) championship’,” Brown said.
“I try to keep in contact with him every now and then just through an Instagram message or something, but he’s obviously a busy guy.
“What he is doing at the moment is amazing. I think his attitude towards the racing is what’s going to help him win the championship this year. He is calm, you can see he doesn’t let things affect him, he is not emotional about any decisions.
“Having someone like Mark Webber in his corner …. I was lucky enough to fly with Mark Webber to (the Australian) grand prix and that was the first time I had actually met Mark and discuss a lot of things with him.
“I think having someone like him in your corner to help you out and vouch for you and give you tips is a massive thing.”
Brown also backed Piastri to triumph on the sport’s biggest stage this year.
“They have got the car to do it and I think Oscar is showing that he is making minimal mistakes,” Brown said.
“If it wasn’t for Australia, he would have a pretty good lead over Lando, hopefully he can.”
‘TOOK OFF TO ANOTHER LEVEL’
Brown’s Triple Eight teammate Broc Feeney also came up against the older Piastri a couple of times when he pushed up in classes.
“He was a couple of years ahead of me, but I did race him. I did a couple of one-off races when I would move up classes,” Feeney said.
“He was always very good … he was very similar to what he is now. He didn’t really make many mistakes and he has always been very very good.
“I think as soon as he went to Europe, he just took off to another level. I love the way that he goes about his racing, he is super calm, collected and he has got a much older head on him than I suppose what his age shows.”
Like Brown, Feeney said he stayed in touch with Piastri, who he had tipped at the start of the year to win this year’s F1 world crown.
“We still keep in touch a little bit here or there and I always try to send him a message after he wins a grand prix and congratulate him, but it’s really cool to see,” the Supercars championship leader said.
“It’s so great to have an Aussie with this much of a shot of winning the championship.
“It’s so cool to watch and see what he is doing and he is just putting it all together at the moment. Three grand prix wins in a row, but he has done it in such a good way. I love the way that he goes about his racing and he is super calm and I think he is a great role model for the sport and kids coming up.
“It’s cool to have an Aussie that is doing so well, so I am really enjoying watching it at the moment. It is awesome to see him carving it up.
“I said it at the start of the year, I picked him as my F1 world champion and he is doing a great job so far.”
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