FIA Formula 3 Champion Oscar Piastri has "plans to be in F2 next year"

Aussie FIA Formula 3 Champion Oscar Piastri has confirmed he has plans to join the FIA Formula 2 grid in 2021.

The Melbourne native provided the update during a wide-ranging Twitter Q&A session.

Piastri is barred from entering the FIA F3 series again due to his championship status, and the FIA Formula 2 grid is the natural next step.

“Yes I have plans to be in F2 next year,” said Piastri. “I’m looking forward to it!”

In the Q&A session, the Australian also named Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna as his motorsport idols, saying he takes inspiration from Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton on the current grid.

I get asked this quite a lot, and I actually don’t have a specific Motorsport hero. Prost and Senna were both amazing drivers with very different styles, and I look to Danny Ric as a great role model on and off the track. Hamilton is very hard to look past too. #AskOscarF3 https://t.co/SgHnD5KQYy

— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) September 19, 2020

The Renault Academy driver detailed his mental approach to his rookie FIA Formula 3 campaign, stating he knew that the championship was “ambitious but certainly not impossible.”

Piastri said he “mainly focused on maximising each race and learning as much as I could.”

It feels amazing! Very proud of what I’ve achieved. It’s a massive relief that in the end the car issues this year didn’t compromise the championship, but it was mentally challenging to say the least. #AskOscarF3 https://t.co/IwgAastZz9

— Oscar Piastri (@OscarPiastri) September 19, 2020

Piastri’s team, PREMA Racing, also compete in Formula 2 - with driver Mick Schumacher currently leading the series and teammate Robert Shwartzman fourth in the standings.

Shwartzman took out the FIA FF3 title in 2019, and both PREMA drivers have been tipped for future Formula 1 drives.