As the Australian National Anthem rang out into the Bahraini night sky, Oscar Piastri reflected on his debut Formula 2 win.

In the subsequent press conference, the Formula 3 Champion described the race as, “the craziest victory I’ve ever had.”

After pitting for soft tyres and emerging in eighth he squeezed his way into an, “Apine sandwich” between Guanyu Zhou and Christian Lundgaard.

Once questions from the floor commenced, insideF2 asked Piastri about how Mark Webber’s racing experience has helped him to raise his own game.

“Mark’s been a great help entering our second year together.”

Despite the lack of physical contact with the nine-time Formula 1 race winner because of the Covid affected paddock, Piastri spoke about how he’s still managed to communicate successfully with Webber:

“I mentioned in the post-race interview it’s the second or third time I’ve seen him on a race weekend because of the Covid bubbles.

“It’s been a lot through phone calls and text messages. Clearly it hasn’t been hurting at all.”

With one of Australia’s most successful sportsmen on his side, Piastri commended the support Mark and Ann [Webber] extend to him.

“It’s obviously great to have Mark in my corner, and also Ann does a hell of a lot for us, and it’s really great to have them in my corner.

“Obviously Mark being a fellow Aussie and the most recently retired Australian F1 driver is pretty cool to have that kind of backing.”

No doubt Piastri is a rising star with an abundance of talent, and with a generous helping of Aussie grit behind him he has motive to succeed.

Image Credit: Formula Motorsport Limited