AlphaTauri Team Principal Franz Tost explains why not every Formula 1 rookie can be expected to perform like Oscar Piastri in the 2023 season
Oscar Piastri finished the 2023 Formula 1 season as the best rookie. The McLaren driver finished on the podium twice and also won the sprint in Qatar. Logan Sargeant and Nyck de Vries in particular had a much harder time in their first Formula 1 year.
Sargeant scored just one point, while de Vries was sacked by AlphaTauri and Red Bull respectively after just ten races without a single point. But Franz Tost explains that this comparison is not entirely fair.
The AlphaTauri team boss told Sky about Piastri: “He was super well prepared, just as I imagine. So he rode 4,000 to 5,000 kilometers last year with Alpine […].” Other rookies often don’t have this luxury.
Although Piastri did not race in 2022, he completed an extensive test program with Alpine before his switch to McLaren was announced for the 2023 season. It therefore comes as no surprise to Tost that Piastri often did a very good job in his rookie year.
At the beginning of the year, the Australian still had difficulties, but then made good progress as the season progressed, “because the car also worked and because McLaren took a sensational step forward,” recalls Tost.
Liam Lawson was also one of the better newcomers in 2023. The New Zealander was allowed to stand in for the injured Daniel Ricciardo at AlphaTauri for five races and scored two world championship points. Tost reveals that they were “very happy” with Lawson
Unlike Piastri, Lawson did not run an extensive test program before his Formula 1 debut, but did compete in the Japanese Super Formula. And the cars there are “not far off Formula 1 in terms of cornering speeds,” says Tost.
In addition, Lawson was “not entirely a newcomer”, as the New Zealander had already taken part in three free practice sessions for Red Bull and AlphaTauri in 2022, as well as the test in Abu Dhabi at the end of the season. His 2023 debut was therefore not a complete cold start for him either