As Oscar Piastri prepares to pull on the papaya overalls of McLaren in Melbourne to take part in his first car race on home soil, he joins four fellow countrymen to contest the Australian Grand Prix since the first in 1985.
Piastri joins the likes of 1980 Formula 1 World Drivers’ Championship winner Alan Jones, sportscar ace David Brabham, multiple Grand Prix winner Mark Webber and recent hero Daniel Ricciardo as contesting the Grand Prix since it became part of motorsport’s pinnacle.
Alan Jones
1985 Adelaide
Making a comeback to Formula 1 in 1985 following his first retirement four years earlier, Jones had the honour of lapping the Adelaide circuit first in his Lola-Haas. It proved a disastrous comeback as the Lola-Haas was unreliable and slow due to Ford’s V6 engine as the first Adelaide race ended in retirement for the 1980 World Champion. Jones returned in 1986, but again it was the same result as Team Haas pulled out at the end of its second season due to lack of budget.
David Brabham
1990 Adelaide
The pressure was on for David Brabham as soon as he joined the grid with the team that bore his name, but Formula 1 team’s glory days were well past it. Following in the footsteps of three-time World Championship winning father Jack, David’s career was not to have the same success in terms of Formula 1, but much like brother Geoff it was placed in sportscars. However, in 1990 he joined the Brabham Formula 1 team now owned by the Middlebridge Group was struggling for money and was now a backmarker. The youngest Brabham emulated his father by competing at an Australian Grand Prix after spinning off. He returned in 1994 with Simtek, but it ended in engine failure. As mentioned, Brabham followed his stint in Formula 1 by contesting the British Touring Car Championship with BMW before going on to win Le Mans.
Mark Webber
2002 Melbourne
Australians had to wait a further eight years before a local returned to the Formula 1 grid, but it proved worth it. Mark Webber had done it the hard way and finally achieved his ambition at Albert Park to reach the top pinnacle of world motorsport courtesy of another Australian, Minardi owner Paul Stoddart. A three-season drought was ended as Webber held off Toyota’s Mika Salo to finish fifth. Going on to race successfully in Formula 1 for the next decade at Jaguar, Williams and Red Bull, becoming a title contender at the squad alongside German teammate Sebastian Vettel. A bitter rivalry followed as Webber took nine victories during a dominant period for Red Bull. Ending his Formula 1 career in 2013, Webber moved to Porsche in the World Endurance Championship, taking title victory in 2015.
Daniel Ricciardo
Melbourne 2012
Australian race fans have never had to wait eight years again to support a local in their home Grand Prix as Mark Webber’s career last more than a decade and Daniel Ricciardo made it two in 2012. A part-season gaining experience at backmarker team Hispania Racing, Ricciardo joined Red Bull sister team Toro Rosso for 2012 where he finished ninth on debut at Albert Park. This began a successful career with Red Bull, replacing Webber at the top team in 2014 where he won seven races during a five-year stint. Seasons at Renault and McLaren followed, with just one win coming in 2021 before returning to Red Bull as test driver this season.
Now it’s up to Piastri to perform on the world stage at Albert Park.