Formula 1 hero Oscar Piastri has taken some time away from the hustle and bustle of his home city ahead of this weekend’s season-opening round, but hopes to be starting on pole position on the grid come Sunday.
Piastri, who hails from the bayside Melbourne suburb of Brighton, was spotted at salubrious Mornington Peninsula hotspot Jackalope over the weekend with his partner Lily.
Oscar Piastri was all smiles ahead of the new F1 season recently.Credit: Getty Images
By contrast, the 24-year-old was surrounded by screaming fans on Little Collins Street in Melbourne’s CBD on Tuesday night for a sponsor’s event, but barely looked fazed by all the extra attention as he conducted media interviews.
He said that while he flew back into Australia a few days ago, he wasn’t able to see his Mum, Nicole, straightaway.
Oscar Piastri was swamped by fans in the Melbourne CBD on Tuesday.Credit: Sam McClure
“I stayed in a hotel just out of the city for a few days, where I was just able to chill out,” Piastri told 3AW Drive’s Jacqui Felgate.
Piastri arrives back in Melbourne no longer as the prodigy, but as a proven championship contender with the weight of expectation on his shoulders.
After a standout 2025 season in which he added seven grand prix victories to the two he won in his breakout 2024 campaign, this weekend’s grand prix will shift the focus from celebration to examination.
Fairly or not, anything short of contention on Sunday will feel like a missed opportunity. He slid off onto the grass in heartbreaking scenes last year at Albert Park when he was battling his teammate, eventual drivers’ champion Lando Norris, for the lead.
But his focus is firmly fixed on this weekend’s season opener, and just how he’ll tame his 2026 car.
Piastri, like several other stars across the F1 grid – including four-time world champion Max Verstappen – is still wary of the new cars, given the raft of regulation changes they’ve been subject to.
“Hopefully I’ll be on pole Sunday,” Piastri said.
The scene from Jackalope Hotel on the picturesque Mornington Peninsula.
“I think the biggest change is the engines – the power units. They’re incredibly different to what we’ve had ever, really, in F1, but certainly in the last 10 years.
“So I think everyone is slowly getting their heads around that. It’s going to look a bit different, probably, for the fans, this weekend compared to last year, but that’s probably the biggest thing [the engine].
“That influences everything; how you set up the car, how you drive the car, how you manage the battery, [and] how you do a race start. So the start is probably going to be pretty exciting.”
The 2026 cars represent one of the most significant technical overhauls in Formula 1 history, with smaller, lighter chassis, radically revised aerodynamics and a near 50/50 split between electric and combustion power under the new regulations.
But everyone will be fighting the new rules in the same way and the Melburnian has already proven himself to be one of the world’s best drivers.
Beyond the noise of Albert Park this weekend, there is a bigger prize in view. Should Piastri mount a genuine title charge, as he did last year when he finished third on the final day of the season, he would again be aiming to become the first Australian since Alan Jones in 1980 to claim the world championship.
The one frustration for Piastri? He will, according to his team, be flying out of Melbourne on Monday or Tuesday at the latest, meaning he will miss his beloved Tigers playing their opening game of the season against arch rivals Carlton next Thursday night.
Piastri’s full interview with Felgate will be aired during her show on 3AW after 3pm on Wednesday.
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