6 Year Old Oscar Piastri’s Entry to Motorsport Compared to Lewis Hamilton’s Start as Uncanny Similarity Draws Attention

Oscar Piastri, even before his debut in F1, became a renowned figure around the paddocks. The prodigy became a sought-after driver after his scintillating rise in the development series. There are definitely high expectations around the McLaren man who is currently suffering to make a mark. However, there is a belief Piastri will prove his mettle sooner rather than later. This claim got more backing as the young Australian revealed how he started his journey as a racer. A journey that bares an uncanny resemblance to how seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton became a racer.

Back in 1992, a young Hamilton started his racing with remote-controlled cars. The Mercedes man became a champion at the tender age of 7 in the series. Later Hamilton joined McLaren’s to further his racing career in karting and eventually made his debut in the premier class for the Woking team. In a conversation on the F1 Nation podcast, Piastri revealed he started his journey in a similar fashion.

Piastri began narrating, “It actually started with, a business trip for my dad, he brought back a remote-controlled car from the US to Australia. I started just driving that around at the backyard and at school, overall at one point when I was, I think six or seven. Then I started racing not long after that and it all kind of went from there. So a bit of a different entry to motorsport. I didn’t start karting till I was about nine or ten years old.”

Tom Clarkson, the host, interrupted and said, “That’s how Lewis Hamilton first got into racing.”

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Apart from the financial difficulties, Piastri is following in Hamilton’s footsteps for now. In fact, the young Australian also drew comparisons with Hamilton’s idol in F1.

Experts compare Oscar Piastri to the idol of Lewis Hamilton and an F1 legend

Piastri is far from showcasing his potential behind the wheel. However, that is mainly because of the poor state of McLaren’s car. When given the opportunity Piastri will blow the competition away. In fact, a former Williams and Ferrari manager, Peter Windsor, are comparing him to Ayrton Senna.

He, among others, is making the comparison because of his performances in the F2 and F3. “I guess we must all be excited about Oscar Piastri because of what he has achieved in Formula 3 and Formula 2. He had the audacity to turn down a starting place at Alpine. I don’t care what people say, that’s what he did and if you do that, then you have great self-confidence,” he said.

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The Australian has not showcased such capabilities so far. However, nobody is counting him out just yet. It’ll be interesting to see how his career takes shape. Will be able to stand on these expectations or even exceed them or will he end up disappointing?