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Oscar Piastri had a brilliant first season in Formula 1. The youngster joined the top-tier single-seater racing series with McLaren, replacing fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo. Though the start of the season was rocky for the rookie due to McLaren being slow, they picked up the pace, and he showcased what he can achieve with a decent car.
Piastri performed so well that he almost broke Lewis Hamilton's rookie record, which has been intact for 17 years.
Oscar Piastri was close to breaking Lewis Hamilton's 17-year-old record of most points scored in a rookie season
Back in 2007, Lewis Hamilton drove his first full season in F1 with McLaren. The Brit was an instant hit in the sport since he was already challenging for the title. He stood on 12 podiums in 17 races and only lost the championship by one point to Kimi Raikkonen.
In that season, the McLaren driver scored 109 points and was level on points with the two-time world champion and his teammate, Fernando Alonso. By scoring this much, he broke the record for most points scored by a driver in their rookie season.
Fast forward to 2023, and Oscar Piastri is the only driver who came close to breaking this record. The Australian scored a total of 97 points in 2023, which makes him the second-highest scoring driver in F1 in their rookie season.
Though Hamilton's rookie season was more tantalizing and legendary, Oscar Piastri's first season was also commendable. The Australian rookie had a tough start to the 2023 F1 season, with a DNF in his very first race, where he was running in eighth. He scored his first points at his home F1 race in Australia.
Things started to take a turn for the better after the 2023 F1 British GP, where he finished fourth. This was particularly because McLaren made a major change to their car, which dramatically improved their performance. Since then, Piastri has scored points in almost every race until the end of the season.
Piastri's best race weekend was at the 2023 F1 Qatar GP. Here, he won his first F1 sprint race and finished second in the extremely hot and intense main race.
Even though Oscar Piastri was nowhere near the top spots like Lewis Hamilton was, he still had a brilliant season as a rookie.
