Piastri creates history with F2 Championship

Jubilation because of the extraordinary feat of becoming the first Aussie to take home the F2 crown; relief that the 20-year-old, with the weight of being championship leader, managed to close out his phenomenal season; and excitement for the path that lies ahead for the emerging star.

Piastri, who has strong family links to the Goulburn Valley, enjoyed another incredible weekend of racing, this time on the Abu Dhabi island circuit.

Fresh off his blitz in Saudi Arabia, Piastri had onlookers scratching their heads, asking themselves how it is he won’t be racing in F1 next year.

The F2 rookie rubber-stamped a mind-boggling fifth-straight pole position on Friday, equalling the efforts of Ferrari F1 star Charles Leclerc from 2017.

With a lead of 51.5 points before the season ending round, his efforts in qualifying sent his supporters into a fever pitch.

Those same fans did not expect their hero — and for proud grandparents in Shepparton, their grandson — to be crowned the champion on the penultimate day of racing.

The Melbourne talent, starting from 10th on the grid, worked his magic in the reverse grid race to finish ahead of his PREMA Racing teammate and nearest rival Robert Shwartzman.

Piastri’s third place finish was enough to widen the championship points gap which saw him become the first Australian to claim the F2 title and his third consecutive championship.

“It's been a good year, definitely. I didn't know if I could do it at the beginning of the year, because to be completely honest coming into Formula Two as a rookie is pretty difficult,” Piastri said to Formula2.com

“I think after the first couple of races my confidence grew, and I'm very happy to be champion.

“It's a massively proud moment for me, I think I'm the first one to win those three championships (Formula Renault Eurocup, Formula Three, Formula Two) in a row.”

But Piastri was not finished there.

Despite failing to finish in the second sprint race of the weekend, the young gun still had the feature race to complete.

And it was a stellar end to his season too.

Piastri led start-to-finish and crossed the chequered flag to claim his fourth-straight feature race.

The ecstatic driver proclaimed on his team radio, “that, my friends, is how you finish off a championship”.

Piastri, already confirmed to fill the position of reserve driver for the Alpine F1 team next year, spent Tuesday testing for his new team.

Piastri registered 131 laps behind the wheel of Alpine’s 2021 car, the A521.

In what was technically his first day on the job, Piastri recorded the third fastest time in the post-season testing session.