"There's still some learning to do" - Oscar Piastri reflects on his first career points at 2023 F1 Australian GP

Oscar Piastri expressed his delight at scoring his maiden points in Formula 1 in his debut home race, before adding that he still has some learning to do as he gets to grips with both the car and the sport.

Piastri was cheered by thousands of fans at the 2023 F1 Australian GP on Sunday (April 2) in his home city of Melbourne. Despite three red flags and a chaotic end to the race, he and his teammate, Lando Norris, kept their feet on the ground and managed to finish in the points.

Speaking to the media, Piastri stated that he was happy to keep his head down and stay out of trouble. He said:

“Definitely happy to get my first points on the board, especially here at home. It was a crazy race, I think it's the first race where I've had three red flags, I think it's probably most people's first race like that. We kept ourselves out of trouble and ended up in the points, it's great!”

Furthermore, Piastri explained how he was stuck behind Yuki Tsunoda and was not able to utilize his car's battery effectively to get past him. He admitted that he still has a lot to learn. The McLaren driver said:

“I think the first lap was pretty good, and then in the middle of the race I just got stuck behind Yuki a bit too long. I just couldn't really find a way past, then was trying a few different things with the battery to try and use it in the right place. There are some things that can work on there, definitely, but I think once I got past the pace seemed to be pretty good. I think for me, there's still some learning to do on how to use the battery most effectively to overtake others.”

Oscar Piastri finished eighth at the 2023 Australian GP, scoring four points. His teammate, Lando Norris, finished sixth and picked up eight points.

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Oscar Piastri willing to learn from mistakes he might make in his rookie year

Oscar Piastri is well aware that he will not be perfect in his first year in F1. The Australian even admitted that while he might make mistakes, he is willing to learn and never repeat them.

Speaking to Speedcafe, he said:

“Obviously, there’s an element of where we are as a team throughout the whole year. Of course, I want to get some results when the opportunity’s there but I think at the start of the year anyway, just laying these foundations, learning everything and then when the opportunities arise, making sure that I’m there to take them.”

He added:

“There’s going to be an element of not being too harsh on myself whilst I’m learning but at the same time, I want to make sure if I do make these mistakes that I make them once and learn from them.”

After starting the 2023 season with a retirement in Bahrain, he finished P15 in Saudi Arabia before scoring his first points with a P10 finish in Australia.