Piastri shares original McLaren expectations after F1 title glory

Oscar Piastri has revealed he expected to score the occasional podium finish in the years following him joining McLaren at the start of 2023.

Speaking at the end-of-season FIA awards ceremony in Rwanda, where McLaren was accepting its first constructors’ championship since 1998, the Australian outlined how significantly their 2024 achievements had defied his initial expectations of the partnership.

The 23-year-old cut his motorsport teeth in the Alpine young driver programme, but sensationally switched to the Woking team after being sidelined for the campaign following his F2 championship triumph, with Esteban Ocon and Fernando Alonso preferred.

That first campaign with McLaren started badly, with the MCL60 an early backmarker. However, a mid-season upgrade vaulted the papaya squad into contention for regular trips to the rostrum.

Piastri scored two top three finishes in his maiden F1 season, as well as sprint victory in Qatar. This term, he has added a further six podiums, as well as two grand prix wins.

Whilst team-mate Lando Norris put up a brief but ultimately distant F1 drivers’ title charge, Piastri will be hoping to continue the steep trajectory in 2025, after finishing fourth in the standings this year.

“I was hoping to have some success, but I was expecting that to be maybe the odd podium here and there,” he said at the prize-giving gala.

“I think it’s been a much quicker trajectory than all of us thought. Maybe not for Andrea [Stella] and Zak [Brown], but for me, I think especially from where we started when I joined, it’s been a much quicker journey to the top than than I thought.

“So it’s been a lot of fun. It’s always more fun when you’re at the front and winning races – two years ago, I definitely didn’t expect this.”