Oscar Piastri wins the third junior championship in three years, winning the F2 title with two races to spare in Abu Dhabi; Piastri, 20, impressed this year, but unlike many previous champions he won’t make the leap to F1 the following season
Last updated: 11/21/21 9:59 am
Oscar Piastri was crowned 2021 Formula 2 champion with two races to go in Abu Dhabi.
After a string of impressive results, Piastri, 20, went to Sprint Race 1 on Saturday only to finish fifth, but sealed his title with a podium ahead of his title rival and teammate Robert Shwartzman in fourth. .
Jehan Daruvala won the race with Felipe Drugovich second.
Quite clear that Oscar will be a full time F1 driver sooner or later, to add to the great young talent we already have going forward. https://t.co/G9XDnjaRwN
– Martin Brundle (@ MBrundleF1) December 11, 2021
By winning the title, Piastri followed in the footsteps of illustrious companies such as George Russell and Charles Leclerc and like those graduates enjoyed a dominant youth career.
This is Piastri’s third championship in three years.
However, while highly regarded and part of a junior F1 academy in Alpine, the Australian will not be on the F1 grid in 2022.
Previous champions GP2 / F2
| Year | Driver | Did you get to F1? |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 (GP2) | Nico Rosberg | Yes |
| 2006 (GP2) | Lewis Hamilton | Yes |
| 2007 (GP2) | Timo Glock | Yes |
| 2008 (GP2) | Giorgio Pantano | Yes |
| 2009 (GP2) | Nico Hulkenberg | Yes |
| 2010 (GP2) | Maldonado shepherd | Yes |
| 2011 (GP2) | Romain Grosjean | Yes |
| 2012 (GP2) | Davide Valsecchi | No |
| 2013 (GP2) | Fabio Leimer | No |
| 2014 (GP2) | Jolyon Palmer | Yes |
| 2015 (GP2) | Stoffel Vandoorne | Yes |
| 2016 (GP2) | Pierre Gasly | Yes |
| 2017 (F2) | Charles Leclerc | Yes |
| 2018 (F2) | George Russell | Yes |
| 2019 (F2) | Nyck De Vries | No |
| 2020 (F2) | Mick Schumacher | Yes |
It was considered for the Alfa Romeo seat, the last to be occupied, although it was ultimately overlooked in favor of fellow Alpine junior and current F2 driver Guanyu Zhou.
Alfa Romeo admitted that the financial support of Zhou, who will be the first Chinese F1 driver, was “a pillar of the decision”.
Unauthorized to compete in the F2 feeder series again after becoming champion, Piastri will instead spend 2022 focusing on being Alpine’s official F1 reserve driver, behind Fernando Alonso and Esteban Ocon.
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