Champion special: My hometown – Oscar Piastri

Get to know our champion a little better, as he takes us on a trip around his hometown, of Melbourne, in Australia. We take a look at places to visit, sites to see, and of course, the best places to go karting.

WHERE IS YOUR HOMETOWN?

“I grew up in Melbourne, Australia, and lived there until I was 14-years-old, when I moved to the UK. It’s a very, very cool place. I think compared to most European cities, there is a lot more greenery, a lot more trees. Australia is a newer country than a lot of Europe, so it is quite modern. There are quite a few skyscrapers, a big city centre, as well as nature reserves and parks. It is quite diverse.

“The weather was the biggest change when I moved to England, but to be honest, Melbourne’s weather can be very temperamental. It is famous for having four seasons in a day.”

WHERE SHOULD TOURISTS VISIT?

“My engineer actually asked me this last year and I wasn’t sure what to say! There are a lot of things to do in the city. You have got the Grand Casino, which has a lot of fancy restaurants, around the back alleys there is some really cool graffiti too. Everywhere around the bay of Melbourne is nice to be honest.

“There is Albert Park as well, where the Formula 1 race is held. That’s a really nice area. I went to one of the Grands Prix back in 2013/14 and I actually got to go onto the grid. I was a part of this programme in Australia where they get young karters to hold the national flag of each driver. I got to hold Daniil Kvyat’s, although he broke down on the formation lap, so I didn’t actually get to meet him.

“I was meant to go again this year, but the race was obviously cancelled. I was going with Renault, so it was meant to be a much more immersive experience, but unfortunately it didn’t happen.”

WHERE SHOULD PEOPLE EAT AND DRINK?

“I don’t think there is anywhere in particular. I mentioned earlier the Grand Casino, of course. In general, Melbourne has a lot of different cultures. There is quite a strong Greek food culture, Italian is strong as well, and there are a lot of good Asian restaurants. Pretty much anything you want, you can find and nine out of ten times, it is pretty solid.”

MOST IMPORTANTLY, WHERE CAN WE GO KARTING?

“My home track was a place called Oakley, which is actually in the middle of a rubbish tip, so it is maybe not the nicest track to go to aesthetically. The layout was very technically though, so I learned a lot from that track.

There is a track which everyone calls Todd Road as well, which is basically in the middle of the city. You can see the whole Melbourne skyline from the track, which is really cool. I have done a lot of laps around there.”