Australian rising star Oscar Piastri had his first taste of Formula 1 yesterday, October 30, testing a Renault R.S. 18 race car for the Renault DP World Formula 1 Team in Bahrain.

Piastri was taking part in a three-day test for the Renault Sport Academy at the Sakhir International Circuit along with fellow academy drivers Christian Lundgaard and Guanyu Zhou.

The 19-year-old Melbourne driver was awarded the test as recognition of his recent win in the FIA Formula 3 Championship.

Piastri completed just under 500 kilometres of testing around the 5.4km circuit and said the day lived up to his boyhood dreams and expectations.

“That was pretty crazy – the Renault F1 car certainly lived up to the excitement,” Piastri said.

“I was a little bit nervous beforehand, which is pretty normal, but after the first lap I got over that and focussed on driving fast and having fun. I think I adapted quite well and got up to speed reasonably quickly.

“I really enjoyed the day, so a massive thank you to Renault for this opportunity. I’m feeling very lucky to drive an F1 car, not everyone gets to do it, so a massive thanks to them.”