Piastri's self-praise after rookie F1 season: 'I had to deliver'

Oscar Piastri has stated he can “pat myself on the back” following his rookie Formula 1 campaign.

The Australian joined McLaren for the season after the Woking-based squad entered tug-of-war with Alpine over his services for the year.

Although he was outpaced by more experienced team-mate Lando Norris throughout the year, Piastri was hailed for his efforts and signed an extension with McLaren until the end of 2026.

The 22-year-old scored two podiums during the campaign in Japan and Qatar and ended the Drivers' Championship in eighth place.

He also prevailed in the Qatar sprint race after securing pole position for the shorter Saturday outing.

While Piastri has praised McLaren for improving the car following its slow start to the campaign, he stated that it was down to him to deliver in high-pressure moments.

“It’s definitely been a great season, a lot of highlights that I wouldn't have been able to do without the team improving the car the way we did,” Piastri told media including RacingNews365.com.

“So I have to give a lot of credit to them. But also, I guess to pat myself on the back, I had to deliver in those moments too.

“And I think to me, that's probably the proudest moment. Silverstone where we rocked up with a car that was competitive, I was able to get the most out of it.

“Japan, not my finest race, but did enough to score my first podium. And Qatar, we had one opportunity really in the whole year to actually win something and we managed to take it.

“For me, I can be very proud of that. [There were] definitely some trickier weekends and things still to work on.

“There’s a whole season, you don't win championships by one or two good weekends. I know that from my junior career, so just need to make that happen more often.”