Oscar Piastri, the Australian Formula One driver, says he is determined to build on his successful finish to the 2023 season, which culminated in him being named the FIA rookie of the year.
On Saturday (AEDT), the Melbourne-born McLaren driver accepted the title at the annual FIA prize-giving ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Piastri, 22, finished ninth in the Formula One driver standings after coming into contention in the second part of the season. He earned top-five results in the Grands Prix of the United Kingdom and Hungary after scoring just five points in his first nine grand prix races, four of them in Melbourne when he finished eighth in a crash-riddled Australian Grand Prix.
“If we can start next year like we finished this season, we should be in good shape,” Piastri said at the ceremony.
“Enjoyed my rookie season in F1 a lot. Hopefully, it is the last rookie season of my career.”
Logan Sargeant (Williams) and Nyck De Vries (AlphaTauri, who was replaced by Daniel Ricciardo midway through the season due to poor results) finished 21st and 22nd in the championship, respectively.
The FIA Rookie of the Year award encompasses a number of motor racing categories. Piastri is the first Formula One driver to receive the award since Alex Albon in 2019.
Piastri is the rookie of the year for the second time, having won the award in 2021 for his initial season in Formula 2.
Piastri also excelled in sprint races, finishing second to championship leader Max Verstappen in Belgium before winning the Qatar sprint.
Verstappen won his third F1 world championship, and his Red Bull Racing team won back-to-back constructors’ championships. Verstappen had a record-breaking season, winning 19 of the 22 races and scoring more points than any other team with both drivers together.
“Of course, we were on a roll throughout the year, and we wanted to perform every single time, at every single race weekend.” “I think it hit me a little bit more when I was standing on the podium at the end of the season in Abu Dhabi – you realize the season is over, you don’t get to drive this car any longer, unfortunately,” Verstappen remarked at the ceremony.
“But, yeah, it’s been amazing.” It was also a lot of pleasure to work with everyone. Of course, we all want to win and perform to the best of our abilities. But when you’re traveling all over the world, you want to be with a terrific group of people, which we absolutely have at Red Bull.
“I’m extremely proud of what we have achieved this year, but, of course, I hope it doesn’t stop here.”
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