"He's as much Italian as he's Chinese": Oscar Piastri's mother breaks down the driver's peculiar ancestry

Oscar Piastri's mother Nicole Piastri recently explained the Australian driver's family tree. She stated how the McLaren driver is part Italian and part Chinese when his father's lineage is explored.

In the past, Oscar Piastri has been involved in several jokes on social media about him being adopted by Charles Leclerc and others so that he could be part of their ethnicity and culture. It became a running joke in F1 circles, especially in the Australian's budding fanbase.

Recently on the Red Flags podcast, Nicole Piastri spoke about Oscar's ethnicity and lineage. She explained that Oscar's ancestry on his father's side was from two different continents, while her ancestry was also mixed, and that her son might not know the details of it.

"So people jump on the Italian because of the 'Piastri', which is Italian, but he's just as much Chinese as he's Italian. It's a long way back, it's not like...no one was born in Italy. So Chris's grandfather was Italian and Chris's grandmother who he was married to was Chinese. Yeah, people pick up on the Piastri, of course, but he's just as much Chinese. So it's like a long way back," Nicole Piastri said. (1:04:05)

"My side is Scottish, Irish. Yeah, that's my side, which he probably doesn't even know about," she added.

In the 2024 F1 season, Oscar Piastri has been driving exceptionally well and he stands in fourth place in the drivers' championship table with 167 points. He won his first F1 race in Hungary and has stood on four podiums so far in 2024, including the race win.

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Oscar Piastri and Charles Leclerc banter about Australian being part-Monegasque ahead of Monaco GP

In May 2024, Oscar Piastri posted a humorous tweet on X (formerly Twitter) about him searching for Monegasque links in his family tree before the 2024 F1 Monaco GP. This was posted by the McLaren driver as a joke, perhaps to gain some Monegasque fans before the Grand Prix at the historic location.

"Searching my family tree to find any trace of Monégasque roots," Piastri wrote.

The only Monegasque F1 driver on the current grid, Charles Leclerc, in turn replied to the post with a joke:

"I can adopt you if needed," Leclerc commented.

Piastri continued the humorous exchange, changing his name to 'Oscar Jack Piastri-Leclerc' and added that he wanted to meet Leclerc's pet dog Leo, whom he referred to as his brother.

Leclerc won his home race for the first time in 2024, while Piastri raced hard against the Ferrari driver, finishing P2 at the Monaco GP.