By Bruce Williams
Date posted: 27 October 2019
Oscar Piastri crowned Formula Renault Eurocup Champion – Dutch Photo Agency
Australian rising star, Oscar Piastri has taken a considerable step towards a Formula 1 career by claiming the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup Championship in Abu Dhabi overnight.
Having won last night’s penultimate race, Piastri needed to finish seventh or better in the final 30-minute race of the year to secure the series crown if arch-rival Victor Martins won.
Starting on the front row of the grid alongside the Renault-backed Martins, the 18-year-old Melbourne driver dropped two places to fourth in the first two laps.
He then survived a scare on lap 3 when Martins’ team-mate, sixth-placed Matteo Nanni made a bold attempt to pick up two spots on the one corner. The son of former Grand Prix winner Alessandro Nanni dive-bombed Piastri and narrowly missed his car.
From there, Piastri settled down and held fourth to the end of the race to claim the coveted title.
“‘Champion’ … that sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?” Piastri said. “It wasn’t the best of races for me, we didn’t have any pace compared to [Martins], but we had the speed to get it across the line.” said Piastri.
“I don’t think [the championship has] sunk in yet; I think I need a few more hours to soak it all in.”
Formula Renault Eurocup is considered a significant stepping-stone to Formula 1. Its list of former champions includes current day F1 drivers Valtteri Bottas, Pierre Gasly, and Lando Norris. Fellow Aussie, Daniel Ricciardo finished second to Bottas in the series in 2008.
Piastri thanked his team, R-ace GP, for their efforts which saw him win five pole positions and seven races, as well as visiting the podium a total of 11 times in the 20-race season.
“A massive thank you goes to R-ace GP, they’ve been faultless the whole time. It’s been a terrific battle between our team and [Martins’] MP Motorsport for the whole season, and it’s great to come out on top.” Piastri continued
The French team clean swept the series, winning the Driver, Team, and Rookie titles.
Piastri is likely to move up to the FIA Formula 3 Championship in 2020. Earlier this week, he took part in two days of an official three-day F3 test in Valencia, Spain, topping the timesheets in the last session before heading to Abu Dhabi.
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