Piastri on overtaking Verstappen: 'Tried hard to get past with car intact'

For about 7 laps Piastri tried to get past Verstappen. At first he had an aggressive approach. But after 3 or 4 laps, he decided to put pressure on the Dutchman and force an error. All in all was the Miami Grand Prix a fun experience for the young Australian?

"I enjoyed it at certain points, yes. It was tough at the beginning trying to get past Max. I tried pretty hard to get past, with everything still on my car. It was not easy but I picked my moments when I needed to," said Piastri during the FIA post drivers' press conference in Miami.

The MCL39 felt quick from the start of the race, Piastri noticed. "I could tell that we had a lot of pace from the get-go today, and it was going to be a matter of when I got past, not if. But I wanted to do it as efficiently as I could."

So, Piastri didn't see Verstappen as a real threat to his hopes for a win, but someone else instead. "I knew once Lando got back behind me, he was going to be catching us a lot. I wanted to get through quickly but cleanly. I felt like I did a pretty good job of that, then built a gap."

From the moment, Norris got past Verstappen, the gap to the Australian did nothing but shirnk. From 10 seconds at around lap 18, it came down to 4,6 seconds at the flag.

"Maybe not the strongest second half of the race of my life, but I think building that gap and being quick at the right times was what I needed," concluded Piastri.