The 2023 Formula One season gets under way this weekend in Bahrain and ahead of Oscar’s maiden race, here’s the lowdown on all things OP.

The OP stat pack

• Oscar will be the youngest driver on the grid as the 2023 F1 season gets up and running in Sakhir on Sunday: 21 years, 10 months and 28 days
• Oscar will become the 15th Australian to start a Formula One Grand Prix when the lights go out at 6pm local time in Bahrain
• The Bahrain International Circuit hosted its first F1 Grand Prix on April 4th 2004 - two days before Oscar’s third birthday
• Oscar first raced in Bahrain at the 2016 CIK-FIA World OK-Junior Karting Championship in November 2016. With an entry list of over 90 drivers, Oscar started 18th in the main event before fighting for a podium position. A collision ahead of him late on in the race, forced him to leave the track but he still managed to claim 6th
• Bahrain was the scene of Oscar’s maiden F2 victory in 2021. He secured a dramatic late victory with a fantastic overtake on Guanyu Zhou on the penultimate lap to take the chequered flag in the weekend’s second sprint race
• Of the other 19 drivers on the F1 grid, Oscar has previously raced against two of them: Logan Sargeant (Karting, F4, Formula Renault NEC, Formula Renault Eurocup, F3 and F2) and Guanyu Zhou (F2)
• Sunday’s grand prix represents the fifth time that the Bahrain International Circuit has held the honour of hosting the first F1 race of the season
• The Bahrain International Circuit is approximately 7,529 miles/12,117 kilometres from Oscar’s home city of Melbourne as the crow flies

On his first GP…

“I am so excited for the weekend. It has been a 12-year journey to get to this point with lots of ups and downs and I can’t wait to get cracking.

As a little boy, I dreamt of a moment like this and can remember pestering my parents and grandparents to watch the F1 races, despite the time difference back in Australia. Starting my first F1 race will be a very special feeling.”

On new surroundings…

“I feel ready. I have worked very hard to get myself in the best shape possible and the team have been great in helping me settle in.

I’ve had a very warm welcome from everyone at MTC and can feel that passion for racing from everyone I speak to. I’ve spent a fair bit of time there in the off-season and so, that has been super helpful in integrating myself and getting used to things.”

On the Sakhir circuit…

“It’s a track that I’ve raced at in Formula 2 and tested at before, so, I know it fairly well and that helps.

It’s always cool racing under the lights and variables such as the wind and tyre degradation can make it an interesting race here. I’m really looking forward to it, especially having not raced in 2022.”

On familiar faces…

“It will also be nice to be making my F1 debut on the same weekend as Logan. We have crossed paths at many stages of our careers in the junior formulae and been teammates and I wish him well.”