Photo: RacePictures.

Piastri confesses McLaren's pit stop fail stings more than Vegas DSQ

20:01, 01 Dec

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byNorberto Mujica

Oscar Piastri seemed en route to take his eighth win of the season at the Qatar Grand Prix.

“Pretty high [levels of frustration] – and that’s saying quite a lot given the last few races I’ve had."

- Oscar Piastri

Oscar Piastri finished P2 in Qatar. Photo: RacePictures.

Instead he had to settle for P2 behind race winner Max Verstappen, who has taken over his runner-up position in the championship standings ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi.

What looked like a certain win given the pace advantage he’d shown throughout the weekend, slipped away after McLaren missed the pit stop call entirely provided by the Safety Car that was triggered on lap 7 by the clash between Pierre Gasly and Nico Hulkenberg, which Red Bull didn't hesitate to pounce on.

Speaking after the race Piastri admitted that his emotions ran high, given the poor run of results he’d racked up in recent races. “Pretty high [levels of frustration] – and that’s saying quite a lot given the last few races I’ve had,” he candidly admitted. “But, yeah, I mean, clearly, we didn’t get it right today, which is a shame because the whole weekend went very, very well. We had a lot of pace. I felt like I drove well. So, yeah, it’s pretty painful.”

Piastri confesses Qatar mistake stings more than Vegas

When asked to compare between the sting of McLaren’s double DSQ from the Las Vegas Grand Prix results and the fumbled pit stop call, Piastri was clear. "I mean, I think on a personal level, I feel like I’ve lost a win today,” he confessed.

“You know, in Vegas, I lost a P4. Obviously, for the team, it was a pretty painful weekend. But, yeah, I think for me personally, this probably hurts more,” he concluded.

Verstappen praises Red Bull's decision-making

Max Verstappen says Red Bull may lack McLaren’s outright pace, but claims the team can still emerge victorious through superior strategy and timely decisions. Read his full comments here.

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