Two die-hard Aussie F1 fans devised a very clever way to watch Oscar Piastri win the Miami Grand Prix on Monday – and they couldn’t have picked a better spot.
‘Tom’ revealed to 3AW radio host Jacqui Felgate that he and his mate Brendan headed to Albert Park in Melbourne to watch the 24-year-old chalk up his sixth career win.
Piastri also became the first McLaren driver to win three straight races since Mika Häkkinen’s haul in 1997-98.
Armed with Tom’s flat-screen TV from home, the F1 enthusiasts headed to the home of F1 on Australian shores – and loved watching Piastri blitz the field.
‘I have a baby at home, so watching it there wasn’t an option,’ Tom said.
‘My mate Brendan was visiting from Sydney, so we decided to watch the race before work.
‘He said to me it (race) is on Sunday…but I said no, it is in Miami, so it is Monday (Australian time).
‘So we headed to Albert Park…..we had an air fryer and some milo, it was a good little set up, we had a blast.’
The pair arrived before sunrise – and were soon joined by a stream of early morning joggers, with many stopping to see how Piastri was faring.
Meanwhile, Piastri finished ahead of McLaren teammate Lando Norris, with four-time defending world champion Verstappen finishing the 57-lap race in fourth.
Piastri’s victory sees him emulate his manager Mark Webber, who was the last Australian driver to win four races in a season back in 2010.
The triumph wasn’t lost on Piastri, who acknowledged how far his McLaren team has come.
‘Two years ago here in Miami, we were genuinely the slowest team. We got lapped twice,’ he said.
‘To now have won the grand prix by over 35 seconds to third is an unbelievable result.’
Elsewhere, Australian rookie Jack Doohan’s race ended just seconds into the opening lap following a wheel puncture.
The Alpine driver collided with Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson at turn one – and now the son of five-time Grand Prix motorcycle champion Mick Doohan faces an uncertain future, with reserve driver Franco Colapinto widely tipped to replace him.
