Oscar Piastri’s on the home stretch … and the Melbourne Grand Prix hasn’t even started

Oscar Piastri is poised to become the first driver from Melbourne to drive in his hometown race. If crowd support could push him over the line, he’d be on the winner’s podium already.

Oscar Piastri at Brighton, Melbourne, on Tuesday ahead of his debut hometown drive in the Australian Grand Prix. Picture: David Caird

Oscar Piastri has come back home and is ready for everything Melbourne is about to throw at him, on and off the track.

Oscar Piastri in the pits at the Bahrain Formula One Grand Prix in Sakhir on March 4. Picture: AFP

Last year the young Australian was mobbed by fans at the Australian Grand Prix when he was just a reserve driver in Formula One. This year the 21-year-old is on the starting grid as the hottest rookie in F1. On Sunday he will become the first driver from Melbourne to drive in his hometown race. If crowd support could push him over the line, he’d be on the winner’s podium already.

“It will be nice to have the home support,’’ he said as he visited the beach in Brighton, just streets from where he grew up. “That will spur me through the weekend. But in terms of the track, if anything it’s a disadvantage because I’ve never raced here before.’’

Piastri’s first two races in F1 were blighted by a breakdown and by a damaged car. But in both races he impressed the experts, who said he had driven well against the world’s top-rated and far more experienced drivers.

Sunday will be the first chance for Australians to witness the talent that saw Oscar Piastri dubbed the ‘most wanted man in F1’. Picture: Getty Images

Even though Piastri will be driving a McLaren, which is not as fast as those driven by the leading drivers like reigning world champion Max Verstappen, it will be the first chance for Australians to glimpse the talent that saw Piastri dubbed the “most wanted man in F1”.

Piastri, who grew up go-kart racing in Melbourne’s southeast before graduating to racing cars and winning both the F3 and F2 competitions, says it feels strange being back in Melbourne and about to race in the grand prix.

“Being here at home where I literally grew up, it kind of doesn’t feel like a race week yet,’’ he said.

Oscar Piastri behind the wheel of his McLaren at Saudi Arabia Formula One Grand Prix at in Jeddah on March 18. Picture: AFP

“Once I get to the track that will change, but it’s nice to be back home, see a few things you grew up with.

“Ultimately it is my home race, but at the same time I’m here to get the best result on track that I can, which is the same goal every race weekend. I’m sure I will try and enjoy it where I can but the number one goal is to go out there and do my best.’’

Piastri slipped into Melbourne at the weekend, spending time with his parents and his three sisters before being thrust into the glare of F1, a sport which is more popular than ever due to the hit Netflix series Drive to Survive.

He has only just started, but his fans will turn up in their thousands hoping that Piastri’s first grand prix in Melbourne gives a glimpse of what might come in the years ahead.