Oscar Piastri and the Long Wait for an Australian World Champion
- Mark Woods
- Jun 6
- 3 min read
Five wins from the first nine races.
A championship lead that does not feel like a fluke or a flash but something far more settled.
Oscar Piastri has already equalled Sir Jack Brabham's 1960 and Alan Jones' 1980 record for the most wins by an Australian in a single Formula One season with five, and there is still plenty of racing to go.
But if you have followed Australian motorsport for longer than five minutes, you will know what is really going on here.
Oscar Piastri is not just having a good year, he is building a case to become Australia’s first Formula One World Champion in 45 years.
Since Alan Jones took the title in 1980, we have had our moments.
Mark Webber nearly made it happen, finishing third three times (2010, 2011 and 2013).
Daniel Ricciardo made us fall in love with the idea again, finishing third twice (2014 and 2016).
But the title?
It always stayed just out of reach.
Until now.
What makes this chapter even more compelling is that Mark Webber, one of those nearly-men, is now Piastri’s manager and mentor.
Webber has brought not just experience, but wisdom and calm.
He knows the peaks and pitfalls of this sport better than most and he has helped shape Piastri.
Their partnership is built on mutual respect, and it shows. Piastri is prepared in ways few rookies ever are.
What makes this more exciting for Australian F1 fans is Piastri does not yell for your attention.
He just races.
And right now, that is proving enough to sit at the top of the world’s toughest sport.
This does not feel like a flash in the pan, or some lucky hot streak.
It truly feels like the start of something.
When telling the Piastri story, you cannot do it without McLaren.
Once a giant, then a shadow, now something close to a contender again, with not just Piastri but Lando Norris challenging for the championship as well.
They have built a car that is quick and reliable.
While everyone is busy writing about team politics or Norris comparisons, Oscar just turns up and wins.
Bahrain.
Imola.
Canada.
Austria.
Spain.
Five wins.
All different.
All earned.
He is beating world champions.
He is beating his teammate.
He is beating history.
Piastri is not the usual Australian Formula One prototype.
He is not slapping slogans on t-shirts or going viral in press conferences.
He is measured
He is focused.
And maybe that is what we have been missing all along.
He is not here to be the loudest in the room.
He is here to be the last one standing when it matters.
Right now, he is both.
If Oscar pulls this off, and let us be clear, he absolutely can, it will be bigger than one driver or one team.
It will be one of those rare sporting moments that sticks.
Ash Barty at Wimbledon.
The Matildas lighting up 2023.
Cathy Freeman under lights in Sydney.
This would belong in that company.
Because this is not just a motorsport story.
It is an Australian story.
Kids are watching this.
Dreaming different.
Sponsors are watching too.
And suddenly, betting big on Australian talent does not feel like a gamble anymore.
Oscar Piastri is not the future.
He is here.
The right now.
Changing the conversation.
Of course, nothing is locked in yet.
Max Verstappen will not go quietly.
Lando Norris is still in the fight.
There is a long way to go.
And in Formula One, everything can change. It usually does.
But as it stands, right now, the fastest, calmest, most dangerous man on the grid is a 24 year old from Melbourne.
We are not hoping for a champion anymore.
We are watching one form in front of us.
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