File image of Oscar Piastri© AFP
Oscar Piastri will have a grandstand named after him at the Australian Grand Prix from next year, an honour the McLaren driver said was “surreal”. The Piastri Grandstand will sit opposite the pit lane at the Albert Park circuit in Melbourne, the home race of 24-year-old Piastri. “It is pretty surreal, it still feels weird racing at home — it is very cool racing at home,” the world championship leader said on social media. Other notable drivers with stands at Albert Park include Jack Brabham, Arthur Waite, Alan Jones, Daniel Ricciardo and Mark Webber.
Piastri currently tops the drivers’ standings with 284 points, narrowly ahead of McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, with 10 grands prix left in this campaign.
Australia hosts the first race of next season.
The naming of a grandstand is an honour typically reserved for sporting legends with a long line of achievements.
Former F1 driver Webber said it was a reflection of Piastri’s promising results so far as he pursues a first world crown.
“Clearly he is very comfortable at the elite level and making his presence felt, which is brilliant, and representing Australia in the way that the country likes to be represented,” he said in a statement.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
