Rising Australian star, Oscar Piastri will realise a lifelong dream when he tests a Formula 1 car for Renault DP World Formula 1 Team in Bahrain on 30 October.

Winner of the prestigious 2020 FIA Formula 3 Championship, Piastri will test a Renault R.S. 18 F1 race car as part of a four-day testing program for the Renault Sport Academy at the Bahrain International Circuit, starting next Thursday, 29 October.

Piastri’s fellow academy members, Dane Christian Lundgaard and China’s Guanyu Zhou, will also take part with Lundgaard testing on the first day and Zhou rounding off the final two days.

Piastri said he would cherish the moment of his first F1 test.

“It’s an awesome feeling to be able to drive an F1 car. It’s something I’ve been dreaming about my whole life, so I’m thankful to the Renault Sport Academy for giving me the opportunity,” Piastri said.

“I hope it’s the first of many tests and I’m looking forward to it. I’m going to try and enjoy the experience as much as I can.“

Piastri had a seat fitting at the team’s race headquarters at Enstone, near London, last week, while the 19-year-old from Brighton in Melbourne has been in training for the test since securing the F3 title at Mugello in Italy last month.

“Bahrain isn’t the most physical circuit, but the G-forces are much higher in an F1 car, so while the physical preparations and general training is more or less the same [as my usual program], there’s more of an emphasis on neck training,” he said.

Renault Sport Academy director, Mia Sharizman said he expected this to be the first of many opportunities with the team for Piastri.

“For Oscar, in this case, what we expect for him is not just a taste of Formula 1. It is a reward, firstly, for winning the F3 title but it is part of his continued progression in the Academy.”” Sharizman said.

Following the test, Piastri will attend the Formula 1 DHL Turkish Grand Prix 2020 with the Renault DP World F1 Team, which will be held at the Intercity Istanbul Park circuit on 13-15 November.

“I am looking forward to attending the Turkish Grand Prix. I’ll be sitting in on the team briefings and strategies meetings, which is exciting,” Piastri said.

“I haven’t been to Turkey before, so it’s also another country to tick off my list of having visited.”