Piastri, Perez point to F1's real non-Europe barrier

Oscar Piastri and Sergio Perez said Formula 1’s biggest disadvantage for non-European drivers comes before they ever reach the grid, with both arguing that the need to move to Europe at a young age creates the defining obstacle in the junior pathway.

Perez said the route into the championship is structurally easier for European drivers because they are already based where the ladder system operates. “Well, I think the lead-up to Formula 1 is definitely easier for a European driver because they're based in Europe,” Perez said. “Being out of Europe, you are the one that has to come in here at a very young age, and there are other issues involved in that.”

That imbalance, in Perez’s view, does not carry over in the same way once a driver has secured a place in Formula 1. He said success at that stage is shaped more by timing and team circumstances than geography. “Once you reach Formula 1, I feel like everyone has the same opportunities,” Perez said. “As you know, in Formula 1, it depends so much on how it goes and the moment that you are in your career with your team; if you are at the right place, at the right time, then you will be very successful.”

Piastri, McLaren driver Oscar Piastri, echoed that assessment from his own experience of leaving Australia during his junior career. “Yeah, the same things,” Piastri said. “The lead-up to F1, moving to Europe as a kid, that's probably the biggest challenge.”

The numbers on the current grid underline the point they were making. Only seven of the 22 drivers in Formula 1 in 2026 were born outside Europe, and Perez referenced Jacques Villeneuve’s 1997 title as the last world championship won by a non-European driver.

Piastri said the picture changes once a driver reaches F1, where being the only representative of a country can even bring advantages. “I think once you're here, then in some ways you have some unique things, me and Checo, for example, being the only ones from our country on the grid. There are obviously positives that come from that,” he said.

Even so, Piastri said those benefits do not offset the extra choices and sacrifices required to reach the series from outside Europe. “But definitely the lead-up into F1 is a little bit more challenging. There are a few more tough decisions to make,” he said. For drivers trying to break into the sport from Australia, Mexico and elsewhere beyond Europe, that remains the point where the biggest gap opens.