Piastri Pinpoints 'Biggest Lesson' From His Rookie Season In F1

Friday, 15 December 2023 at 15:00

The 2023 Rookie of the Year, Oscar Piastri, was named the biggest lesson that he took away after the end of the season.

Formula One is probably the most competitive sport in the World. Only 20 drivers can drive at the same time. and the sport is already packed with colossal talent.

Countless drivers "graduate" every year from Formula 2, for example, but just cannot get a chance to race in F1 as there are already too many great and more experienced drivers.

Since 2019, three F2 World Champions have had a chance in F1, but only one, McLaren's Oscar Piastri, is still there.

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The 22-year-old impressed his team so much that he got his contract extended with the Papaya team from the initial end of the 2023 season to the end of 2026. The Aussie shared learnings from his first season:

"There's been a lot of lessons. I think, for me, you can't rest, making a mistake in Formula 1 costs you a lot more than it might do otherwise."

Logan Sargeant said a similar thing; he mentioned that drivers in rookie series like F2 or F3 can get away with having a semi-average day, which is not the case in F1. Piastri continued:

"All the drivers are extremely competitive. All the teams are now extremely competitive. If you take it a little bit easy you can suddenly lose a lot of time, a lot of positions. So that's probably the biggest one."

The McLaren driver, who his team principal has praised for his ability to adapt, change, and evolve his driving style, shared he had to learn a lot in his rookie season to stay competitive.

"There's been specifics on driving and energy management as well. It's been a busy year. But just how competitive everything's been, that you can't rest on your laurels [is the biggest lesson]."