How F2's biggest talent could be forced to spend 2022 on the bench

Rarely do rookies win consecutive championships in FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2. Formula 1 standouts Charles Leclerc and George Russell did just that, but such is the level of skill it takes to hit the ground running and beat competitors with far more experience. Piastri looks set to join that elite group if he can secure this year's F2 crown, which he leads by 15 points heading into this weekend's Sochi round.

But where Leclerc and Russell walked into F1 seats the year after their 2017 and 2018 F2 title wins with Alfa Romeo and Williams respectively, there appears to be no such opening for Alpine junior Piastri next year, with the only vacant seat at the Ferrari-affiliated Alfa Romeo squad.

With that situation largely out of his control, Piastri is determined first to close the deal in F2. But despite the Prema ace’s strong run so far, having scored points in all but two races, won twice and finished on the podium four times, he insists the season is “far from done yet”. Main rival Guanyu Zhou is in his third season with UNI Virtuosi and will keep the pressure on at the remaining rounds in Jeddah and Yas Marina.

“The number one aim is to win the championship, obviously,” Piastri tells Autosport ahead of the Russian Grand Prix weekend. “I'm certainly in a position where I can challenge for that, and I am confident that we can achieve that.

“Besides that, just winning more races, really, that's kind of the only thing I can do. The championship is the one big box that's left to tick, I think, in terms of winning a feature race, sprint race and pole position and fastest laps.

“I've got at least one of all those. So now it's just adding to that tally, really. And then yeah, trying to achieve the final box of the championship.”

Piastri's consistent scoring has helped him build a gap to Zhou in the points standings

Photo by: James Gasperotti / Motorsport Images

The 20-year-old from Melbourne started out in karting in 2011, before making the switch to single seaters for several rounds of the F4 UAE Championship in 2016. He quickly impressed and upon moving to British F4 in 2017 with Arden, finished second in the championship with six wins and 15 podiums from seven pole positions – more than any other driver.

Next came Formula Renault Eurocup, where he took three podiums in his first year, before edging Victor Martins to the title at his second attempt in 2019.

It was after this victory that Piastri began officially working with nine-time grand prix winner Mark Webber, although the relationship had begun earlier via a mutual connection. The former Red Bull F1 driver now acts as Piastri’s manager and has praised the youngster’s “extraordinary CV”.

Piastri admits he was “a little bit starstruck” when he met Webber for the first time.

“That was pretty cool, and also a little bit daunting at the same time,” he recalls of meeting the driver who ended Australia's 28-year wait for a grand prix victory at the Nurburgring in 2009.

"The original plan from even when I got into F3 was two years of F3 and two years of F2. And F3 obviously went better than planned and F2 is also probably going better than planned" Oscar Piastri

After snatching last year’s F3 title from Theo Pourchaire by just three points, Piastri had hoped to be similarly competitive in F2, but admits he expected to spend two years in the series before the prospect of making the move to F1 became a reality.

Although he says the weight of the car, power output and carbon brakes have taken some getting used to, Piastri adapted quickly - a trait he regards as one of his personal strengths - to exceed both his own expectations and those of Alpine. It has put him in the unfortunate position of having no drive lined up for 2022, should he win the F2 title - which would make him ineligible for a second season.

“I caught myself out with how well it's gone, to be honest,” he says. “I think naturally if it caught myself out - and I know more or less what I can do - then that's naturally going to catch out a few other people as well.

Piastri believes he's surprised not only himself, but his watching bosses at Alpine too

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

“The original plan from even when I got into F3 was two years of F3 and two years of F2. And F3 obviously went better than planned and F2 is also probably going better than planned.

“Not trying to sound arrogant, but there's very few drivers that have managed to do what I've done and what I'm doing. You know, George and Charles are kind of the only two that have had a similar fate. So without blowing my own horn, it's not a very common situation.”

Comparisons to other drivers are inevitable at his level, with former Prema champion Leclerc the most obvious to make. And despite the pressure such association may bring, Piastri says he welcomes being painted in such light.

“There’s still a fair way to go in this championship,” he points out. “Obviously, I'm confident that I can win the championship and we definitely can. But I think the comparisons to Charles are only good – he’s obviously doing pretty remarkable things in F1 at the moment, so it's definitely not a bad thing.

“I’m definitely not shying away from those comparisons, it only paints me in a good light. That's only positive for me, and the more I gets mentioned, I kind of hope if I do win the championship this year, then hopefully, people understand how rare that achievement would be.”

Naturally, Piastri is disappointed by his predicament for next year, and says his feature race win at Monza “reaffirms that I should be in contention for an F1 seat, so that was nice to reiterate that I'm still here, still winning”. But he accepts his hopes of a 2022 F1 seat are “basically done and dusted”.

“That Alfa seat is obviously still available, but I'm not particularly getting my hopes up,” he says. “So it's more going out and still just trying to win, which I wanted to do for the whole year anyway. But I really want to make sure now that I give nobody any excuse as to why I should be overlooked.

“I have to manage that and make sure it doesn't become over the top and take over. But the main aim of this year is still to win the championship and give people no excuses as to my ability and how I am as a driver.”

Getting off to a winning start in Bahrain helped get the ball rolling

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Looking ahead to next year, when F1 is set to introduce mandatory FP1 running for rookies at a yet-to-be-determined number of grands prix, Piastri believes the “most logical pathway” is to pursue the Alpine reserve driver role, with a view to earning an F1 race seat in 2023.

“I'd be okay with spending one year on the sidelines I think,” he says. “Obviously, it's still not ideal, but it's happened to quite a lot of drivers out there. So that one I can accept, but if it was looking like more than one year out, then there’d some serious discussions about what I do moving forward.

"All of these results are coming through hard work, and not looking back at previous successes. It’s all in the sim and in the meetings with Prema and working hard before each weekend" Oscar Piastri

“The aim would definitely be to try and be reserve driver at Alpine and then target a 2023 season. Given how the cards have been played this year, I think that's the most realistic target now.”

Piastri's confidence is high after wining the Monza feature race last time out, but he says “it doesn't change anything about the approach for Sochi”.

“Just because I won last weekend, doesn't mean I'm going to win this weekend, so I have to work as hard as ever,” he says. “All of these results are coming through hard work, and not looking back at previous successes. It’s all in the sim and in the meetings with Prema and working hard before each weekend.”

It will be cruel on Piastri if his meteoric rise through the feeder series, coupled with his consistently impressive F2 debut season isn't rewarded with an F1 race seat next year. His case is just the latest proof that F1 doesn’t always reward the most talented. But if he can continue to apply his hard-working ethos in a reserve role, then it's surely only a matter of time before Piastri does get his chance.

Race winner Oscar Piastri, Prema Racing

Photo by: Formula Motorsport Ltd