Oscar Piastri reveals 'excitement' over 10-year McLaren wait

Piastri na P2 in Sprint Shootout op Spa-Francorchamps — Photo: © LAT Images

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Piastri reveals 'excitement' over 10-year McLaren wait

The young Australian admits to highs and lows during 2023

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Saturday 2 December 2023 21:57

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri has opened up on his first season in Formula 1, where he managed to claim two podiums and win a sprint race.

The Australian found himself taking on a number of tracks in which he had never driven during his young racing career, but performed solidly to claim ninth in the drivers' championship and help his resurgent McLaren team to finish fourth in the constructors' standings.

Whilst inconsistencies in his performances led to him finishing 108 points behind his much more experienced team-mate Lando Norris, Piastri did become the first driver since Lewis Hamilton to score more than one podium in their rookie season.

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He was also one of just two non-Red Bull drivers to win a race of any kind throughout 2023, when he took victory during the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix.

Oscar Piastri won the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, and came second in the main race

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri formed a brilliant partnership in 2023

Oscar Piastri is managed by fellow Australian Mark Webber

Piastri's race-winning hopes

Now, Piastri has explained how he expects to build on his rookie season, and push McLaren closer towards the dominant Red Bull team in 2024.

“It’s definitely been a bigger roller coaster than I expected,” Piastri said.

“I knew there would be ups and downs, maybe not as down at the start or as up at the end.

“But I’ve really learned a lot. I feel like I’ve had basically every situation you could have apart from a championship fight. It’s been a good year in terms of learning both.

“I think, as a team, we’re learning how to compete at the front again, which is exciting. It’s not a position we’ve been in for 10 years. So nice to be having these conversations again, going through these scenarios.

“And, for me, it’s really a privilege to be fighting at the front. So early in my career, there’s people that go their whole life on career that don’t have the opportunity that I’ve had in 22 races. So I’m very grateful for that. And I’m looking forward to so many more years to come where hopefully we can do that more often.”