Oscar Piastri scores first Formula 1 points as Aussie rookie finishes eighth in Melbourne

Oscar Piastri claimed his first Formula 1 points at the end of a chaotic Australian Grand Prix on Sunday with just 11 cars completing the race.

The 21-year-old finished eighth when Max Verstappen took the checkered flag behind the safety car after the race was stopped with two laps to go for the third time following a major crash at turn one.

Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz collided, the former falling to 11th while the two Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly went out and Nyck de Vries and Logan Sargeant also went down.

However, because the lap had not passed the first sector, the FIA ​​decided to restart the race with the order prior to that third start, so Verstappen finished first, with Lewis Hamilton and Alonso on the podium.

“Definitely happy to get my first points on the board, especially here at home,” Piastri said.

The young Australian started 16th on the grid but survived a chaotic race to score his first Formula 1 points after a difficult start to the season

‘It was a crazy race, it’s the first race where I’ve had three red flags and I think it’s probably the first race for most people like that.

“We got into trouble and ended up in the points.”

Scoring his first Formula 1 points at his home Grand Prix, Piastri emulated his manager Mark Webber, who finished fifth for Minardi at the end of a similarly eventful race at Albert Park in 2002 on his debut.

Piastri, who replaced Daniel Ricciardo at McLaren after spending last season as Alpine’s reserve driver, arrived at Albert Park with little hope of securing his first career points in a struggling car.

The 21-year-old showed promise in practice, finishing 12th on Friday and posting the 14th fastest time in the third session on Saturday morning, but was eliminated in Q1.

But in a race marked by crashes, fires and stoppages, Piastri survived the carnage to score the first points of his career.

The Melbourne was 11th when the GP restarted with two laps remaining after a red flag was called following an incident with Haas’ Kevin Magnussen.

But he was promoted inside the top 10 after the restart resulted in more chaos in the field, with a red flag called for the third time in the 58-lap race.

The race was stopped again, with a break of around 30 minutes before resuming under a safety car as defending champion Verstappen took his maiden Australian GP victory under truly bizarre circumstances.

Having retired in Bahrain at the season opener due to electrical problems, Piastri finished 15th in Saudi Arabia as McLaren struggled to put out a competitive car.

Max Verstappen won the Australian Grand Prix in a dramatic race at Albert Park in Melbourne

The race ended under a safety car as Hamilton was second and Alonso took the podium.

The British manufacturer fared much better in Melbourne when Piastri’s teammate Lando Norris crossed the line in sixth place.

“It hasn’t been a good first two races for the whole team, largely because of things that are out of our control,” Piastri said.

‘The first two races really couldn’t have gone much worse for the team.

“Obviously Bahrain, we both had our problems and Saudi Arabia with the contact took us both out, so it was nice to be on the good side of other things going wrong for other people.”