Emerging Australian motorsport whiz Oscar Piastri and his extended family in the Goulburn Valley are daring to dream.
Piastri, who has strong family ties to Shepparton, is banging down the door on a Formula 1 seat in 2022 after another sublime, clinical weekend behind the wheel.
The 20-year-old extended his lead atop of the Formula 2 Championship with victory at Sochi on Sunday in what the young gun described as the “hardest race of his life�.
The win in Russia secured the star talent back-to-back feature race wins, following his classy performance at Monza a fortnight before.
OSCAR PIASTRI WINS AGAIN‼�‼�‼�— Formula 2 (@Formula2)HE TAKES BACK-TO-BACK FEATURE RACE VICTORIES!Pourchaire (P2) and Daruvala (P3) follow him across the line �#RussianGP #F2 pic.twitter.com/9db0Er8OnoSeptember 26, 2021
In only his rookie F2 season, the Alpine Academy talent sits on 178 points — 36 points clear of his nearest rival, Guanyu Zhou, with two rounds remaining.
It was another gutsy drive from the skilled PREMA Racing driver.
Starting from pole position for the third consecutive race — joining the likes of current F1 drivers George Russell and Charles Leclerc to achieve a hat-trick of poles — Piastri edged out his competitors in the 28-lap stanza.
The Formula 2 Pole Hat-Trick Club™� �— Formula 2 (@Formula2) @Charles_Leclerc, @alex_albon, @GeorgeRussell63, and now...@OscarPiastri �#RussianGP #RoadToF1 pic.twitter.com/Gy8Z0TgBwaSeptember 24, 2021
But last year's F3 Championship winner was made to earn his victory.
French driver Théo Pourchaire stalked Piastri from start to finish and almost pulled off an overcut on the race leader on lap 10.
Pourchaire, who stayed out for an extra lap while Piastri pitted, exited the pits with the lead but Piastri — on tyres already up to temperature — clawed back the lead with a silky overtake on turn five.
The duo worked its way through the pack of cars on the alternate strategy and it was Piastri who claimed the chequered flag.
“It was a very tough race, pretty different to Monza (in terms of no safety cars) and stuff like that,� Piastri said in a post-race press conference.
“I was pushing the whole way and I could see Théo in the mirrors and I think the gap was toing and froing a little bit. The most difficult part of the race, or most critical part, was trying to get through the alternate strategy guys quickly.�
With only one unconfirmed seat left in the F1 paddock for 2022, Piastri is battling it out with Zhou to fill the spot at Alfa Romeo.
OSCAR PIASTRI WINS AGAIN‼�‼�‼�— Formula 2 (@Formula2)HE TAKES BACK-TO-BACK FEATURE RACE VICTORIES!Pourchaire (P2) and Daruvala (P3) follow him across the line �#RussianGP #F2 pic.twitter.com/9db0Er8OnoSeptember 26, 2021
World championship success would make him a tough choice to look past and with two rounds left on the calendar, achieving that feat is fast turning from dream to reality.
But Piastri said he was only worried about widening the gap to Zhou in round seven.
“It's nice to have that gap and now I've got two-and-a-half months (to) dream about that, but I still want to extend it more and make it a bit more comfortable because with the format this year everyone could change in the blink of an eye,� he said.
“So (I'm) not getting ahead of myself.�
â—� Supporters of Piastri will have to wait until December 3-5 to catch a glimpse of him back in action when the F2 season heads to Saudi Arabia.
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