Road to Formula 1

He was born on 6 April 2001 in Melbourne. In 2013 he won the Australian CIK Stars of Karting series. He moved into single-seaters at 15: he made the podium twice in UAE Formula 4, and in 2016–2017 he raced in British Formula 4, finishing runner-up in 2017.

In 2019 he won the Formula Renault Eurocup with R-ace GP, sealing the title on 26 October 2019 at the final round in Abu Dhabi, after which he earned a contract with the Renault academy. Then came two titles in a row with Prema, each in his first season in the series: the Formula 3 championship in 2020, with two wins and six podiums, and the Formula 2 championship in 2021. He spent 2022 without racing, as Alpine’s reserve driver.

A contract dispute and a debut

On 2 August 2022 Alpine announced him as its race driver for 2023, and the same day Piastri publicly replied that he would not drive for Alpine: he had already signed a contract with McLaren on 4 July 2022. On 2 September 2022 the FIA Contract Recognition Board ruled that only the McLaren contract was valid, and the same day the team announced him as team-mate to Lando Norris from the 2023 season. Later in 2023 McLaren extended the deal to the end of 2026, and on 11 March 2025 it announced a new multi-year extension.

He made his World Championship debut for McLaren at the Bahrain Grand Prix on 5 March 2023, starting 18th and retiring. He scored his first points at his home Australian Grand Prix on 2 April 2023 — eighth after starting 16th. He took his first podium at the Japanese Grand Prix on 24 September 2023, finishing third from second on the grid. On 7 October 2023 he won the sprint in Qatar from pole, and the next day he was second in the Grand Prix.

First wins

He took his first win at the Hungarian Grand Prix on 21 July 2024, starting from second; his second came at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 15 September 2024, again from second on the grid. Over the 2024 season he stood on the podium eight times, won the sprint in Qatar on 30 November 2024 and finished the championship fourth. That year McLaren won the Constructors’ Championship for the first time since 1998.

A title fight

He took his first pole at the Chinese Grand Prix on 22 March 2025 and won the race from pole the next day. On 20 April 2025 victory in Saudi Arabia put him at the top of the Drivers’ Championship — the first Australian to lead the championship since Mark Webber. Over the season he won seven Grands Prix: China, Bahrain on 13 April, Saudi Arabia, Miami on 4 May, Spain on 1 June, Belgium on 27 July and the Netherlands on 31 August; on 29 November 2025 he won the sprint in Qatar from pole.

He held the lead until the Mexico City Grand Prix on 26 October 2025, where Lando Norris moved ahead. The title was decided at the final round in Abu Dhabi on 7 December 2025: Norris became champion, Piastri finished the season third, and McLaren retained the Constructors’ Championship.

2026 season

In 2026 he races for McLaren, his fourth season with the team, alongside the reigning champion Lando Norris; the championship runs to new technical regulations with new power units and active aerodynamics. The year began with two starts that never happened: at his home Australian Grand Prix on 8 March 2026 he qualified fifth but crashed on the way to the grid, and in China on 15 March 2026, again from fifth on the grid, he could not start because of an electrical fault in the power unit — Norris did not start that day either.

He finished his first race of the season at the Japanese Grand Prix on 29 March 2026 — second after starting third; on 3 May 2026 he finished third in Miami. He retired in Hungary on 26 July 2026, was sixth at Zandvoort on 23 August 2026, and on 13 September 2026 he was eighth at the Spanish Grand Prix at the new Madrid circuit.