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Australian Formula 1 driver Oscar Piastri says he is determined to build on his strong finish to the 2023 season, having capped a superb debut campaign by being awarded the FIA rookie of the year.<\/p>\n
The Melbourne-born McLaren driver claimed the award at the annual FIA prize-giving ceremony in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday (AEDT).<\/p>\n
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Man on a mission: Oscar Piastri enjoyed a fine rookie season in Formula 1.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n Piastri, 22, ended the Formula 1 season in ninth on the driver standings, surging into contention in the back half of the season. He had top-five finishes in the Great Britain and Hungary Grands Prix, having had just five points across his first nine grand prix events \u2013 four of them in Melbourne when he avoided trouble in a crash-riddled Australian Grand Prix to finish eighth.<\/p>\n \u201cIf we can start next year like we finished this season, we should be in good shape,\u201d Piastri said at the ceremony.<\/p>\n \u201cEnjoyed my rookie season in F1 a lot. Hopefully, it is the last rookie season of my career.\u201d<\/p>\n Two other rookies in the championship \u2013 Logan Sargeant (Williams) and Nyck De Vries (AlphaTauri, replaced by Daniel Ricciardo midway through the season after poor results) \u2013 finished 21st and 22nd respectively in the overall standings.<\/p>\n The FIA Rookie of the Year award covers several motor racing categories. Piastri is the first F1 driver to win it since Alex Albon in 2019.<\/p>\n This is the second time Piastri has been rookie of the year, having claimed the award in 2021 for his debut season in Formula 2.<\/p>\n Piastri also showed his class in the sprint races, finishing second to championship winner Max Verstappen in Belgium, before winning the Qatar sprint.<\/p>\n Verstappen claimed his third F1 world championship trophy, while his Red Bull team secured back-to-back constructors titles. Verstappen enjoyed a record-breaking campaign, winning 19 of the 22 races and score more points himself than any other team managed with both their drivers combined.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, throughout the year we were on a great roll, and we wanted to perform every single time, at every single race weekend. I think it did hit me a little bit more once I was standing on the podium at the end in Abu Dhabi \u2013 you realise the season is over, you don\u2019t get to drive this car any more, unfortunately,\u201d Verstappen said at the ceremony.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, yeah, it\u2019s been incredible. And great fun as well to work with everyone. Of course, we all want to win and do the best we can. But when you\u2019re travelling around so much all over the world, you want to do it with a great group of people, and we definitely have that at Red Bull.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m extremely proud of what we have achieved this year, but, of course, I hope it doesn\u2019t stop here.\u201d<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\nMost Viewed in Sport<\/h2>\n
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