MOTORSPORT: Aussie Oscar's first F1 test confirmed

Australia’s Oscar Piastri will take the next step to Formula 1 when he tests for Renault in Bahrain next week.

The reigning Formula 3 champion is being groomed for F1 as a member of the Renault Sport Academy and the October 30 test will be his first drive in an F1 car.

Piastri is determined to follow in the footsteps of current Renault F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo and become Australia’s next driver in the premier category in world motorsport.

“It’s an awesome feeling to be able to drive an F1 car. It’s something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life, so I’m thankful to the Renault Sport Academy for giving me the opportunity,” Piastri said.

“I hope it’s the first of many tests and I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to try and enjoy the experience as much as I can."

As much as he will savour the emotion of the moment, Piastri is motivated by his ultimate ambition of progressing to F1 and winning the world drivers’ championship.

“Being F1 world champion would definitely be the goal,” he told motorsport magazine Auto Action last month.

“I am not going to aim to get to F1 so I can run around in 15th or 16th, although at the beginning of your career that is probably likely.

“But I would like to think I can try and fight for a world championship one day if I make it to F1.”

Piastri had a seat fitting at Renault’s race headquarters at Enstone, near London, last week.

The 19-year-old from Brighton in Melbourne has been in training for the test since securing the F3 title at Mugello in Italy last month.

“Bahrain isn’t the most physical circuit, but the G-forces are much higher in an F1 car, so while the physical preparations and general training is more or less the same [as my usual program], there’s more of an emphasis on neck training,” he said.

“There will be lots to learn on the day, such as getting used to the power, downforce and braking of the car and it will all be a challenge, but I love tackling new ones.

“I drove the Bahrain circuit earlier this year when we did the FIA Formula 3 pre-season test, but I’ve obviously never lapped the circuit in an F1 car, so I can’t wait to get out on track.”

Piastri will drive a Renault R.S.18, the team’s 2018 F1 racer as a reward for winning the F3 title, but more tests are being planned.

“For Oscar, in this case, what we expect for him is not just a taste of Formula 1. It is a reward, firstly, for winning the F3 title but it is part of his continued progression in the academy,” Renault Sport Academy director Mia Sharizman said.

“The plan for the testing days often varies depending on experience, so Oscar’s day will be about getting him up to speed and familiar with the car.”

Piastri’s fellow academy members, Dane Christian Lundgaard and China’s Guanyu Zhou, will also take part, with Lundgaard testing on the first day, Piastri taking day two and Zhou rounding off the final two days.

Lundgaard and Zhou both race in the Formula 2 category, which Piastri will be contesting in 2021.

Following the test, Piastri will attend the Turkish Grand Prix with Renault, which will be held at the Intercity Istanbul Park circuit on November 13-15.

“I am looking forward to attending the Turkish Grand Prix. I’ll be sitting in on the team briefings and strategies meetings, which is exciting,” Piastri said.

“I haven’t been to Turkey before, so it’s also another country to tick off my list of having visited.”