Formula One's humble hero: How McLaren star Oscar Piastri credits staying down to earth to his childhood sweetheart Lily Zneimer after pair met at boarding school

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Since its conception, Formula 1 has been a hotbed for playboys, where daring racers dice with death and their latest model girlfriends look on from the sidelines.
But their latest championship leader, Oscar Piastri, has won a legion of fans with a humble, calm approach to the sport as he has overtaken his teammate Lando Norris as the lead car of dominant McLaren.
Still just 24, he has won more than half of this year's races - and credits staying down to earth to his childhood sweetheart, who he met while boarding at a Hertfordshire private school.
Engineering graduate Lily Zneimer, who Oscar has been dating since their lower sixth year, has remained a quiet figure at his side as she accompanies him to races across the globe.
She has no open social media presence and instead choses to show her support through loving touches to her outfits - playfully adding keyrings showing her boyfriend to her bag and wearing a custom t-shirts bedazzled with his number.
In news posts by their former school Haileybury, which charges nearly £57,000 a year for senior boarders and counts Sir Stirling Moss as an alumnus, fans have spotted a sweet insight into their relationship.
In one titled 'Best Ever GCSE Results', which went up just a year before they started dating, Lily can be seen wide-eyed and grinning as she holds up her results - a perfect nine A*s.
Another - from the year before - congratulates 'talented racing driver' Oscar for securing his maiden victory in British F4.
But in fact while at the Hertfordshire school he only managed a 35 per cent attendance rate as he juggled work with his burgeoning racing career - and only made the 3rds for his school sports teams.
In the end his A-Levels were cancelled by the Pandemic, meaning his grades were based on his work over the last two years - including days where he 'flew to Monaco like 2 a.m. after an exam'.
He told the Athletic: 'Maybe my results could have been a bit better if I took the exams, but it actually made things much more convenient because my exams were supposed to be basically through the middle of my F3 season.'
It is a testament to his temperament that pundits have joked about Oscar being a swot, far removed from his vibrant teammate Norris.
He tends to shy away from the post-party celebrations that saw his fellow McLaren driver turn up to his maiden victory with a plaster on his nose.
Joking on the Chequered Flag podcast, BBC commentator Harry Benjamin laughed: 'Oscar is the type of person who, at school, he would have had all his exercise books and his pencils out in a row, and he would be doing his homework diligently - that is the impression I have of him!
'He's meticulous and serious and it is like there is a reluctance to let that excitement get the better of him. He is keeping it all under control and who can say that's a bad move? It seems to work for him.'
And Oscar's old teachers are quick to agree - with the head of sport saying he was 'meticulous' as he managed to balance 'impressive' academic achievements with his sports success.
Andy Searson said: 'Oscar was a terrific student in and out of the Haileybury classroom.
'Joining Haileybury UK in Year 10 from Melbourne, Oscar never demonstrated anything other than exemplary humility and remarkable composure throughout his four years at Haileybury.
'A charming young man and a passionate cricket fan, he was a dedicated member of the 3rd XI cricket team, he himself capable of bowling a heavy ball with an intimidating run-up!
'As well as playing cricket himself, he would relish such opportunities granted in the boarding school environment as gathering with his peers around the television to watch Ashes cricket battles in the winter months.
'Oscar was meticulous with his time management, coping admirably with his impressive academic work whilst simultaneously excelling on the global go-karting and formula 4 circuits, and regularly training at Silverstone. He was, and is, quite the role model and we are very proud of him.'
Looking back at the start of his career, Haileybury's Master, Eugene du Toit, added: 'We are so proud of what Oscar has achieved, and it has been a pleasure to celebrate his success.'
It was while in his third year at Haileybury that Oscar started dating Lily, having moved from Australia to the UK to pursue his racing dream.
'I met my girlfriend at school, we must have been 17,' he told the Eff Won podcast in December 2023 - joking that she would 'kill me if I get this wrong'.
'The second last year of school we became a couple and we've been together ever since so it's been nice to have someone there from the start still with me.
'It's been fun, it's been good. I wouldn't change it, so I'm enjoying it.'
He continued: 'We keep it private, not secretive like some relationships are but we keep it to ourselves.
'We try to be out of the spotlight and just live normal lives.'
Lily is said to keep him grounded, teaching him to cook in between races - and is often spotted in the paddock with a laptop in hand.
An engineering graduate, she is said to love to be hoping to get into F1 herself - albeit from the technical side.
'Oscar introduced me to the British student in the paddock at the 2022 Australian GP when he was the Alpine reserve driver, Australian photographer Kym Illman said in 2023.
Oscar shot to surprising fame in 2022 - dramatically shunning an Alpine seat after they announced he would be driving for them the following year
'She's polite, quiet, classy and by the time you watch this, has probably graduated with a degree in engineering.
'She wants to get a job in F1 and with her contacts you'd have to say she rates a pretty strong chance. They are a delightful couple.'
Lily is understood to want to keep a low profile, but shows off her support for her boyfriend in understated displays of affection.
In one shot, she pinned a badge showing his helmet to her handbag while in another she wore a custom beaded McLaren top complete with Oscar's number.
Her family, coaching consultant Jonathan and project manager Elizabeth, both proudly repost Oscar's achievements and photos of him with Lily on social media.
Speaking at their suburban family home outside St Albans, her mother politely declined to be interviewed - but said she was 'very proud' of both Lily and Oscar.
Their sweet relationship marks a refreshing diversion from the scandalous lives of others on the grid.
British teenage sensation Oliver Bearman hit the headlines last year after he was reported to be involved in a love triangle with new Alpine driver Franco Colapinto over influencer Estelle Ogilvy.
Norris last year admitted he has 'many' girlfriends, and has been linked with the likes of Portuguese and actress Margarida Corceiro, following her split from ex-Chelsea star Joao Felix.
In 2022 he reportedly messaged a mystery Dutch model and invited her on a McDonalds date, following his split from fellow Portuguese model Luisinha Oliveira - romantically saying: 'I'm single now', before adding: 'Ordering McDonald's come join.'
Norris is now said to have gone official with Margarida Corceiro, a 22-year-old Portuguese actress, model and influencer, and the loved-up pair were seen celebrating big win together at the Monaco Grand Prix.
And Lewis Hamilton has enjoyed a number of high-profile relationships - including an on/off relationship with Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger which went on for seven years, Nicki Minaj, Kendall Jenner, Rita Ora and Shakira. He was most recently linked to Modern Family star Sofia Vergara, although that reportedly ended in March.
Oscar shot to surprising fame in 2022 - dramatically shunning an Alpine seat after they announced he would be driving for them the following year.
Then just 21, he posted: 'I understand that, without my agreement, Alpine F1 have put out a press release late this afternoon that I am driving for them next year.
'This is wrong and I have not signed a contract with Alpine for 2023. I will not be driving for Alpine next year.'
He instead signed with McLaren - a move supposedly wrangled by his manager, the former Aussie F1 star Mark Webber.
In Miami he became the first McLaren driver to win three consecutive Grands Prix since Mika Hakkinen in 1997, as he leads the championship by 16 points.
Originally hailing from Melbourne, his engineering entrepreneur father Chris co-owns HP Tuners, an elite automotive software company said to have an annual turnover of more than $40million.
He started off by racing remote-controlled cars, beating 30-year-old men in competitions when he was just six.
Oscar's parents both came from families of mechanics, and grew up with a passion for motors - in 2021 his father told the Sydney Morning Herald: 'Oscar's bedtime stories were mainly car books. He could recite how quick cars were, the horsepower, how much speed they had.'
His mother Nicole has become beloved in her own right by racing fans - frequently taking to social media to poke fun at her son.
After his latest victory she posted: 'Off to Pilates, like a winner (….or at least a winner's mum).'