Celebrating a birthday on the podium: Oscar Piastri is the seventh F1 driver to do it. Piastri Celebrates Birthday on the Podium: Becoming the Youngest to Do So in F1 History.

The birthday gift
Finishing on the podium in a Formula 1 race is already an exciting achievement for any driver, but the level of happiness increases if the driver manages to secure such a position on their birthday. It’s not an easy celebration to achieve, both because the dates of GPs on the calendar often don’t match the birthday and due to the competitiveness of the car in a particular race. The last driver to manage this, however, was Oscar Piastri. Third in the Japanese GP, despite a final result not fully appreciated by the McLaren driver, the Australian blew out 24 candles on the podium, also setting a curious record: Oscar Piastri became the youngest to celebrate this special occasion among the six other drivers who had received trophies as birthday gifts before him.

The six drivers before Oscar Piastri
The Australian broke the record previously held by New Zealander Chris Amon, the first ever in F1 history to claim a podium on his birthday. In the 1968 British GP, then held at Brands Hatch, Amon achieved this feat with Ferrari at the age of 25, finishing in second place. Carlos Pace also reached second place in the 1974 US GP when the Brazilian celebrated his 30th birthday after the race at the Watkins Glen circuit. The most beautiful birthday gift for any driver on their birthday, the winner’s trophy, was first received by James Hunt, who, in the year of his world championship title (1976), celebrated his 29th birthday with victory in the Dutch GP. Particularly appreciated was also the second-place finish gift given to Carlos Reutemann in 1981, when he finished second in his home GP in Argentina at the age of 39.

Aside from James Hunt, the only driver to win on his birthday was Jean Alesi in the 1995 Canadian GP. A special victory for the French Ferrari driver, who celebrated his first F1 win that afternoon in Montreal, which would also be the only win of his career. Eleven years later, in another Ferrari, Rubens Barrichello finished third in the Monaco GP, celebrating his 32nd birthday and becoming the last driver to earn a top-three finish on his birthday before Oscar Piastri arrived.