What Happened to Oscar Piastri? Get the latest information on the 2023 accident and controversy involving an Australian racing driver. Oscar Jack Piastri, an Australian racing driver, is presently a McLaren Formula One participant. Piastri, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, began his karting career in 2011 after competing in national-level remote-control vehicle racing.
Piastri joined Ricky Flynn Motorsport in 2015 and began participating in European and international CIK-FIA-sanctioned karting events after becoming a pro and competing in various Australian races and titles in 2014. After finishing sixth in the 2016 World Championship in Bahrain, the racing star transferred to the United Kingdom to further his career.
With R-ace GP, the racing prodigy won the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2020, the Formula 2 Championship in 2021, and the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup. He is the fifth driver to win both the GP3/Formula 3 and the GP2/Formula 2 titles in the same year. The celebrity driver is also the sixth to accomplish so in their maiden season in the GP2/Formula 2 Championship. Due to his success in lesser categories, Piastri is considered one of the sport’s most promising young drivers.
Oscar Piastri: What Happened? – Accident Update 2023
Oscar Piastri, an Australian racing driver, was involved in an unpleasant accident with Carlos Sainz, a significant character in the Ferrari squad, during the highly anticipated Belgian Grand Prix. The incident happened on the opening lap of the race at Turn 1 when Piastri tried a daring move on the inside of the bend. Unfortunately, Sainz replied quickly, closing the space and causing a collision that damaged both vehicles. While Sainz’s Ferrari was damaged on the right side, Piastri’s vehicle was severely damaged, forcing him to retire early.
Despite attempting to complete one more lap with fresh tires, the magnitude of the damage made it impossible, forcing his decision to withdraw on the second lap, causing the deployment of yellow flags on the circuit to warn other drivers. Meanwhile, Piastri’s teammate, the brilliant Lando Norris, struggled with the car’s setup, contending with excessive downforce, which hampered his performance. Norris was 14th in the race at the time, navigating the challenging track conditions on hard tires.
Carlos Sainz, on the other hand, had to cope with a 10% loss in aerodynamic balance, which considerably damaged his speed and dropped him to 18th place in the standings. As the race progressed, reports spread that the Scuderia team was considering withdrawing Sainz’s vehicle owing to the damage sustained in the early incident. However, no official confirmation had been released at the time, and supporters and spectators awaited more details from the team on Sainz’s involvement in the enthralling Belgian Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri’s Health and Illness in 2024
Oscar Piastri is now healthy as of 2024. However, the racing driver made a stunning admission regarding his suffering from a gastrointestinal sickness over the 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend in May. As a consequence, Piastri had to live on four pieces of toast, dropped three kg owing to a stomach bug, and had no luck on the track over five arduous, unproductive days in Baku. The driver, on the other hand, won high acclaim from his British colleagues for persevering in a restricted cockpit in an attempt to finish in the top 10 and collect points on the Baku street circuit, only to have his efforts disrupted by bad luck once again.
“Despite being sick, fighting spirit was evident throughout the weekend.” @OscarPiastri and Doc, you should be proud of your effort. McLaren issued a comment on their official Twitter handle. Despite finishing 11th, well outside the points, at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on Sunday, Australia’s rookie was hailed by his McLaren team for his courageous effort. According to all reports, the 22-year-old Piastri battled the paralyzing disease so hard that his manager Mark Webber reported Piastri had dropped three kg.
