Piastri’s history with Silverstone

Oscar Piastri’s meteoric rise into F1 has seen him take on Silverstone 14 times since 2017 – and it’s been a pretty consistent hunting ground.

Piastri heads to the Silverstone GP circuit this weekend for his first race there as Formula 1 driver after compiling a stellar Junior record there, and he’ll do so with some pretty significant aero upgrades on his MCL60; upgrades that saw his McLaren teammate Lando Norris enjoy a season high fourth place in Austria.

On Piastri’s triple-championship climb into the world’s premier open wheel category, the Melbourne born Ace took three wins, four podiums, and four pole positions at the famous British circuit.

Piastri driving to his maiden win at Silverstone in the 2017 British F4 season. Image: JEP/LAT

Having raced there through the British F4, Formula Renault Eurocup, F3, and F2 (the last three as a record breaking three-peat – and second place in the British F4) his 14 races have yielded strong results at Silverstone.

As he heads to Northamptonshire circuit this weekend, Piastri is certainly not expected to take pole, win, or take a podium in the McLaren MCL60, but with the aero boost (which will be a complete overhaul by Budapest) another top-ten finish would be as good as a podium…and throw in a Q3 for good measure.

Piastri made his Silverstone open wheel debut in 2017 as a British F4 driver for TRS Arden Junior Racing Team (run by Christian Horner) on September 16 in Round 9 of a championship he’d finish as runner up with a 6 win season.

Piastri celebrates back-to-back Silverstone wins in the Formula Renault Eurocup in 2019.

He started out his racing life there with a pole position (6 pole season), taking back-to-back P3’s, before netting his first ever victory there with the fastest lap to boot.

He returned there in 2018 for his first year of Formula Renault Eurocup, taking a rookie podium in Race 2, before returning there in 2019 for his second attempt at the Eurocup with R-Ace GP.

That year, his visit to Silverstone kick-started a pretty rampant season for Piastri, where after a slow start, the two-race Round 2 visit netted him a double pole and back-to-back victories.

Although that would be his last record victory at Silverstone, the next two seasons saw him go there as a Formula 3 and Formula 2 driver for the successful Venetian based Prema Racing team, where he would claim back-to-back titles.

His first F3 visit to Silverstone in a successful relationship with Prema saw him take P2. Image: Mark Sutton / LAT Images)

In 2020 (as a Renault Sport Academy driver – which was rebranded into Alpine Academy in 2021) he finished second in his first F3 race there, coming in behind Kiwi Red Bull Junior driver Liam Lawson, and one step over Williams F1 driver Logan Sargeant, before suffering a retirement in Race 2 with a stuck-open DRS.

His Formula 2 season in 2021 was his last outing at Silverstone before a year on the side-lines as an Alpine F1 reserve driver.

In the days of the F2 having two Sprint Races and a feature, Piastri’s July Silverstone outing saw him claim pole position for the feature (five for the year).

Piastri’s F2 outing at Silverstone saw him take another podium and a scoop of points that helped him defend the championship lead. Image: Zak Mauger / LAT Images)

He claimed vital points as the championship leader over the two reverse grid sprints with a P6 and P4, before claiming a podium in the feature, finishing third behind Alfa Romeo F1 driver Zhou Guanyu, and British driver Dan Ticktum. 

The rest is history, as Piastri went on to win the title (the first rookie since George Russell in 2018) and become the hottest property on the market, with Alpine then failing to keep hold of the immensely talented driver.

In researching the results of his time at Silverstone, it’s remarkable to see some the talent Piastri had the better of in his Junior career (as well as those that fell by the wayside in a cut throat sport) many of which are currently in F2 if they’ve not progressed into F1, which highlight how impressive his rise into the McLaren team has been, and why they were desperate for his signature.

Piastri’s journey into F1 has seen him race 14 times at Silverstone, with three wins, four podiums, and four poles. Image: Mark Sutton / Sutton Images)

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