JANUARY 6, 2024

Top Ten of 2023 - Ninth - Oscar PiastriI

Oscar PiastriI

By Luis Vasconcelos

There’s a new start in Formula 1’s firmament with Oscar Piastri announcing his arrival with a spendid win in Qatar’s sprint race, followed by a solid drive to second place in the main race, keeping his far more experienced team mate, Lando Norris, at bay all the way. Starting his Formula 1 career with a car that was painfully uncompetitive, the young Australian still managed to get into the points in his home race and in Monaco, but it was once he was handed the upgraded version of the MCL60, in Silverstone, his season realy took off.

A fourth place in that race was followed by P5 in Hungary and when the second upgrade was made available to him, in Suzuka, he outqualified Norris, finished third in the race and followed it with a near perfect weekend in Qatar. The final races of the year were less impressive, as there were a few too many incidents – most of them not of his own making – costing Piastri points, but he surely showed he's one for the future. Managing the tyres on race day will be the area in which he’ll have to improve the most in 2024, but given his progression this year only a fool would bet against that happening.