Oscar Piastri will replace Daniel Ricciardo at the McLaren Formula 1 team in 2023, the team confirmed Friday in a press release.
“I’m extremely excited to be making my F1 debut with such a prestigious team as McLaren and I’m very grateful for the opportunity that’s been afforded me,” Piastri said in a statement.
The 21-year-old Australian will partner with Lando Norris and fill the seat vacated by countryman Ricciardo, who is ending his McLaren contract early. Ricciardo’s future plans have not been confirmed.
2022 McLaren MCL36 Formula One race car
Piastri, who is managed by fellow Australian and F1 veteran Mark Webber, has already built up an impressive resume, winning the 2019 Formula Renault Eurocup, the 2020 F3 championship, and the 2021 F2 championship.
“Oscar is one of the up-and-coming talents coming through the feeder series into F1 and we are delighted to see him join the team for 2023,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown said in a statement. “Winning both F3 and F2 in successive rookie seasons is a real achievement and testament to his talent in single-seater racing.”
2022 McLaren MCL36 Formula One race car
Piastri was very much in demand, in fact. He’s been Alpine’s reserve driver for the 2021 season, and the team had tried to secure him to fill a seat vacated by Fernando Alonso, who is headed to Aston Martin in 2023 to replace Sebastian Vettel.
Alpine preemptively named Piastri as Alonso’s replacement, leading the Australian to release a statement denying that he would be driving for the team. The Alpine seat remains unfilled as of this writing, but the team could potentially take back Ricciardo, who drove for it in 2019 and 2020 under its previous Renault guise.