McLaren F1 star Oscar Piastri uses AFL player Dustin Martin’s coach ahead of Australian Grand Prix

Australian F1 driver Oscar Piastri hopes to challenge for world titles over the “next 10 years”, and has turned to AFL superstar mentor Dustin Martin to help him do so.

As Piastri prepares to drive in his first home race at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, the 21-year-old has explained how special it is to race in his hometown for the first time since he was racing karts. at 15

The McLaren star grew up just 15 minutes from the iconic Albert Park track, playing cricket and Aussie Rules as well as being obsessed with all things car.

And even though he left for the UK to pursue his racing career aged just 15, he still holds Australia close to his heart, which includes being involved with Martin’s renowned mindfulness coach, Emma Murray.

He had such an effect on three-time Norm Smith medalist and premiership winner that Martin thanked him in his 2017 Brownlow speech.

Dustin Martin credited renowned mindfulness coach Emma Murray in his 2017 Brownlow speech, and Piastri has also reaped the rewards of working with the mentor.

And he’s been just behind Piastri, as well as other elite athletes like Scott McLaughlin (Indycars), Cate Campbell (swimming), Will Pucovski (cricket) and Morgan Mitchell (track and field).

“If I can fight for world championships for the next 10 years of my life, that would be great,” he told the herald sun ahead of the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon.

“But for most people, they’re lucky to get just one opportunity, and I want to make sure I’m ready when that opportunity comes one day.”

For his part, Murray previously said that while Piastri was skeptical about mindfulness tools at first, he quickly realized that improving between the ears is vital to his career.

“I was talking to Oscar Piastri, the F2 driver recently. He told me he didn’t really believe it to begin with, but when he was under pressure he would really hold on to those tools,” Murray told the Herald Sun in 2021.

He also praised the maturity and composure of his young charge as he became the first driver to win three consecutive secondary F1 championships.

Piastri worked with Murray when he was climbing the racing ranks in Europe, and his skills had an immediate effect.

Emma Murray (pictured with Dustin Martin after Richmond’s big final win in 2021) has said how impressed she is with Piastri’s focus and presence of mind as a youngster.

Piastri became the first driver to win three consecutive F1 secondary meets when he won the F2 title with Alpine in 2021.

“It takes incredible focus and presence to take victory out of the first race of a disrupted season. Not bad for a young rookie,’ he said of a 2020 F3 race win

That came a year after she praised him for his Formula Renault Championship victory, saying Piastri dealt with “the most extreme pressure a young driver could face.”

It’s clear that the soft-spoken Piastri is a deep thinker about racing. He says it’s a constant battle to control his desire to get better and better.

“Throughout my junior career, I guess I’ve always been my own harshest critic. I think a lot of guys, especially at this level, are their own harshest critics,” he said. speedcafe this week.

‘I will know if I feel good about what I have done or not and of course I will do my best every time.

“There’s going to be an element of not being too hard on myself while I’m learning, but at the same time, I want to make sure that if I make these mistakes, I make them once and learn from them.”

After such incredible success as a junior in Europe, you may be able to get the boy out of Australia, but you will never be able to get Australia out of the boy.

Piastri is preparing to compete in his first race Down Under since he was 15 when he drives for McLaren in the Australian GP on Sunday.

Piastri revealed he still misses Aussie icons like meat pies, Tim Tams and Big M chocolate milk, and despite earning $750,000 in his first F1 season, he’s content living in a modest apartment with a framed photo. of him and his childhood hero, Ricky Ponting. .

As he prepares to finally race in Australia for the first time in seven years, Piastri is eager to soak it all in and put on a show for his home fans, even if his McLaren’s unreliability will make it difficult.

“It will be good to have the support from home,” he said.

That will stimulate me during the weekend. As for the track, if anything it is a disadvantage because I have never raced here before, so it will be a challenge, but the support at home will be excellent.”

Practice begins on Friday, with qualifying scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The race itself will start at 3 pm on Sunday.