The Australian is out to challenge for the driver’s championship in 2025 after helping McLaren to the Formula One constructors’ crown last year

He has the face of a child and the nutritional preferences to match, but nobody doubts Oscar Piastri deserves his place at the Formula One grown-ups’ table. The 23-year-old helped McLaren to the constructors’ championship with two race victories last year, and has emerged as a genuine contender for the driver’s crown in 2025.

Days before this week’s first race of the season in Melbourne, the chocolate milk-loving, chicken parmigiana-ordering Victorian isn’t tempering expectations. “It’s hard to not be confident when you’ve got the championship-winning team around you,” Piastri said at his latest sponsor’s engagement on Wednesday evening, for McLaren partner Airwallex.