Australia's Oscar Piastri confirmed to race for McLaren

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Oscar Piastri
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Oscar Piastri has been confirmed to race for McLaren next season, replacing fellow Australian Daniel Ricciardo. 

The 21-year-old had been heavily linked to a move in recent weeks following news of Ricciardo's exit, after bursting onto the scene this year with Alpine. 

F2 champion Piastri confirmed his move to McLaren via social media on Saturday morning. 

“Hi everyone, the news is finally out – I will be joining the Formula 1 grid in 2023 with McLaren," he said.

"I am super excited to be joining the grid with such a prestigious team. I have no doubt it’s a great place to start my career.

"It’s been a long road up until this point, I’ve been racing for 12 years, and this was my dream from the very beginning.

"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 offered to me. 

"I just wanted to thank everybody who supported me throughout my journey, including my colleagues at Alpine for the past few years. Also my family in particular, who have made a significant contribution to supporting my career from the very beginning.

"I can’t wait – I’ll be doing my best to drive as quickly as possible and get some good results."

Piastri is managed by Aussie F1 legend Mark Webber, and his move to the UK-based team is an exciting one for both parties. 

McLaren boss Zak Brown believes the youthful partnership of Piastri and Oscar Lando will be a great one for the team. 

"In Lando and Oscar we have a young, exciting F1 line-up with a huge amount of potential, standing us in good stead to achieve our future ambitions," he said. 

"Oscar is an exciting addition to the McLaren family, and we look forward to seeing him grow with our F1 team."

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Liam is a content producer for The Sporting News Australia.
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