As of the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, Oscar Piastri is the first Australian driver to score a podium in his rookie season.

Of the other 17 Australian drivers to ever take part in the World Championship:

Tony Gaze, the first Australian to drive in F1, didn’t score a point from his 4 races in 1952.

Sir Jack Brabham only competed in one race in 1955 (The British Grand Prix) and retired due to a broken clutch, his first points finish didn’t come until the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix, and his first podium wasn’t until his win in the 1959 Monaco Grand Prix, the year that saw the first of his three World Championships.

Paul England only competed in one race in 1957 (Germany) and failed to finish due to mechanical failure.

Ken Kavanagh entered 2 races in 1958 and didn’t start either of them.

Frank Gardner scored no points from his 9 races in 1964-65 (And 1968), but found greater success in touring car racing, winning the British Touring Car Championship 3 times and finishing 2nd at Bathurst with Bob Morris in 1975.

Paul Hawkins didn’t score a point from his 3 races in 1965.

Tim Schenken, later renowned as the V8 Supercars Race Director, didn’t score a point in 1970, and his lone podium came in a Brabham the next year at Austria, making him one of only 6 Aussies to feature on an F1 podium, with Schenken and Piastri the only two that haven’t stood on the top step.

David Walker didn’t score a point from 11 races with Lotus in 1971 and 1972.

Vern Schuppan didn’t score a point from his 13 entries across 1972 to 1977, but he later won the Le Mans 24 Hour in 1983.

Larry Perkins, who later became a legend of Australian touring car racing, didn’t score any points from his 15 entries across 1974, ’76 and ’77.

Alan Jones’ only points finish of 1975 was a 5th placing at the Nurburgring in a Graham Hill Embassy in 1975… his first podium wasn’t until his mega upset victory at the 1977 Austrian Grand Prix driving a Shadow, and he would ultimately finish with 24 podiums, 12 Grand Prix victories and the 1980 World Championship.

Warwick Brown finished 14th in his only career start (1976 US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen), 5 laps down on James Hunt.

Brian McGuire didn’t start his only career entry (1977 British Grand Prix) due to being a reserve entry, and sadly he died later that year in a Shellsport G8 event at Brands Hatch.

Jack Brabham’s son Gary Brabham didn’t make it out of pre-qualifying from his 2 entries at the start of 1990, and many years later wound up on the child sex offender’s list.

Brabham’s youngest son David didn’t score a point from his 30 entries after debuting for Brabham in 1990 and returning to race for Simtek in 1994, having the unfortunate fact of being Roland Ratzenberger’s teammate at the time of his fatal accident at Imola – David later won the Le Mans 24 Hour in 2009 with Peugeot, matching his older brother Geoff in 1993.

Mark Webber’s best result in 2002 was his memorable 5th placing on debut for Minardi at Albert Park… Webber didn’t get his first podium until the 2005 Monaco Grand Prix in a Williams, but ultimately finished with 42 podiums (9 of them wins), a record for an Australian driver.

Daniel Ricciardo didn’t score a point in his few appearances with HRT in 2011, his first podium wouldn’t come until the 2014 Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona in a Red Bull, a few races before his first win, the 2014 Canadian Grand Prix – Ricciardo is currently on 32 career podiums, 8 of them wins.

And in 2023, after 16 races and a couple of Top 5 starts + finishes, Oscar Piastri became the first Australian driver to finish on the podium in his rookie season.

Not only the podium, but Piastri now has more Top 5 finishes in his rookie season (3) than the other 17 Australian drivers had in their rookie seasons…

COMBINED.