Oscar Piastri had an explosive season with McLaren once their race pace got better. Initially, the Aussie could hardly manage to reach Q3 in his MCL60 but no one would’ve thought that Piastri would get a Sprint win even before his much more experienced teammate.
Oscar Piastri has been a superstar rookie, giving us a performance that we missed in Formula 1 for years. Piastri was there at the right place at the right time, almost letting go of the crown held by Lewis Hamilton. Yes, Oscar went up against the Mercedes veteran in a unique way.
Oscar Piastri came close to Lewis Hamilton’s rookie point milestone
Oscar Piastri was the obvious rookie of the year in 2023 as McLaren finished his debut season on a high note. He scored 97 points throughout the season, with 2 podiums and 11 point finishes; this, coupled with his Sprint win, was the cherry on top to make 2023 memorable. Oscar himself got emotional about his first year with McLaren and Lando Norris.
But Oscar Piastri narrowly missed out on a very magnificent feat. Oscar Piastri was competing with an ex-McLaren driver who went on become a legend of the sport. He almost beat Lewis Hamilton to become the best rookie ever. Hamilton has held the record of the best rookie season ever with 109 points scored in 2007 for McLaren.
Hamilton and Oscar Piastri have been the only drivers to score and compete on such a level, throughout the history of Formula 1. It’s not a coincidence that they both did it with McLaren, maybe the Papaya outfit is built for champions.
Piastri commits to McLaren until 2026
Oscar must consider McLaren a lucky charm because, the Australian has committed himself to the Woking outfit for the rest of the season. Much like Lando Norris, Piastri seems to trust his current team a lot. He has signed a contract extension that enables him to fight with McLaren for longer.
Oscar Piastri has decided to continue with McLaren till 2026, giving 3 more years to get accustomed with sport on the frontlines of the grid. With the way things have progressed in 2023, it might just be the best decision for the rookie. McLaren have shown promising performance late in 2023 and with an experienced driver like Lando by their side, they might be able to turn tides of the game next year and make it a championship battle.
Oscar Piastri has made a breakthrough this season, but there was another driver who couldn’t manage to earn a spotlight for himself. Logan Sargeant became the most expensive driver in terms of crashes, and things look grim for him next year.
