Oscar Piastri reveals the INSANE number of flights he has to catch every year as he opens up about his life ahead of the Australian F1 Grand Prix
As the Formula 1 season gears up for the opening race at Albert Park this weekend, Australian Oscar Piastri is not only preparing to do battle for the championship – but also another year of jaw-dropping travel.
Piastri, who begins his third season with McLaren, has quickly established himself as one of Formula 1’s brightest talents since making his debut in 2023.
Winning two GPs during his impressive debut season, including a memorable victory in Hungary, he played a key role in McLaren’s historic Constructors’ Championship win last year.
The 23-year-old, who’s tipped by some to become the first Aussie to claim the Driver’s Championship since Alan Jones in 1980, has revealed the astonishing number of flights he takes every year.
‘Far too many,’ he told News Corp.
‘We’ve got 24 races, so that’s at least 48 flights. And then you’re flying to the sim [simulator], pretty much before every race. So I would probably say double that – about 100.
Oscar Piastri (pictured) clocks up an extraordinary amount of miles in travel every year
Aussie F1 star says he probably only gets to sleep in his own bed 100 nights per year
‘A lot of the European stuff is private but a lot of the flyways are all commercial. A lot of the drivers live in Monaco, so we all kind of try to go together just to make it a bit more efficient logistically.’
And with all the travel, Piastri doesn’t sleep in his own bed very often.
‘I think last season we added it up and it was maybe 100 (nights),’ he revealed.
‘So it’s just over three months. So it’s not a lot. And the longest period you kind of have in one go is maybe a full week if you’re lucky.
‘But normally if you can get three or four days, that’s a decent stint.’
For a young driver chasing his first title, the physical toll is immense. Jet lag, time-zone shifts and long haul flights are all part of the gig.
Piastri makes sure he gets to the gym as often as he can.
‘When you get to F1, you have power steering but the G-Forces are off the scale so your neck takes a massive beating and it’s obviously not a very conventional muscle to train,’ he explained.
Piastri arrives in Melbourne this week for the season opener as a genuine world title contender
‘You still need strength, because your core or your lower back takes a bit of a beating.
‘So I work on cardio and in the gym, depending on the week. If it’s a race week in Europe, for example, normally we will get to the race either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning, so I’d do a lighter recovery day on Monday then a full training day.
‘If there’s no racing, then you train the whole time. But when you’re going to Asia or off to the Americas, with all the travelling and jet lag, you just get in what you can when you have the chance.’
