The meteoric rise of Australian motorsport star Oscar Piastri reached another level this week.
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Piastri, who has strong family ties to Shepparton, jumped behind the wheel of a Formula One car as he completed a test day for Alpine at Italy's Monza circuit.
It is the 20-year-old talent's third crack at F1 testing and his second this year, after a great showing at Silverstone.
Piastri currently leads the Formula Two championship in his rookie season, after making the jump from Formula Three — which he won last year.
The Alpine Academy driver spoke after the testing about the experience of reaching high speeds and nailing the apexes around the Temple of Speed.
“It was awesome to get back in the RS18 here at Monza,” Piastri said.
“I definitely felt the sensation of speed which was really cool. And given the track is so historic and old school with the fact the walls are still close . . . it was a little bit more daunting in a F1 car compared to others I've raced here.
“I loved every second of it and really learnt a lot.”
Piastri highlighted which aspects of the drive that stood out.
“I think this is probably the first (time) in a F1 car that I have really felt that sensation of speed,” he said.
“It's not the fastest I've been . . . but when it's just you, by yourself it really did come quite fast.
“The most noticeable thing is the braking. You have got a lot more stopping power than F2.
“It's an awesome feeling, especially when on qualifying run on low fuel, with soft tyres, it's just awesome.”
Before his testing midweek, Piastri completed his first post-practice simulator race support for Alpine's F1 team on Friday night at the Hungarian Grand Prix.
Alpine's F1 driver Esteban Ocon then went on to win in a shock result.
Piastri's work in the simulator at team headquarters validated the team's practice data, helping to establish the race set-up for the cars.
“I was doing race support for the team on Friday night and then yeah, Alpine went and won on Sunday. Not so much me, but other parts of my group are crediting me with some of the victory,” Piastri said with a laugh.
“I'll take it of course, but a tiny part was me, if anything, but Esteban did a mega job to hold off (Sebastian) Vettel for the win.
“It was pretty awesome to watch that with the Alpine guys. I'll take a little bit of credit for it, but it was certainly mostly down to Esteban.”
The bright prospect's extended family is based in the Goulburn Valley and has been busy cheering him on as he announces himself to the racing world.
His F2 outing at Silverstone last month featured an electrifying pole position and a podium finish.
Piastri also won during his debut weekend in F2, showcasing his sublime talent.
Piastri’s mentor Mark Webber was trackside to watch his protégé behind the wheel at Monza.
Webber, a nine-time race winner in F1, heralded Piastri as one of the hottest talents in racing on the planet.
“He thoroughly deserves it of course, he's been performing extraordinarily well,” Webber said.
“He's one of the hottest properties in junior racing in the world right now. The (Alpine) academy has been great for him, but he's also been great for the academy.”
Webber spoke glowingly of the next face of Australian racing.
“He's on such a strong progression in his career, going from Formula Three last year, driving a F1 car and leading the Formula Two championship,” he said.
“He's doing incredibly well, we are very proud of him of course. He's very focused and very much his own man. We talk a lot and when I can give him advice I will.”
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