Oscar Piastri said he could have achieved a better result in the Mexican Grand Prix despite the red flag compromising his race.
The McLaren driver sustained damaged which his team said badly compromised his car’s performance.Piastri gained back the positions he lost from pitting before the race suspension. But he lost places to George Russell and his team mate in the second half of the race, following an incident with Yuki Tsunoda.
“Some big moves, I think it was hard racing,” said Piastri. “The one at the end [with Tsunoda], I’m not really sure what happened for me. I was just braking, and then we touched wheels, so nothing really more than that.”
Following that his race engineer Tom Stallard told Piastri to make way for team mate Lando Norris, who recovered from 17th on the grid to finish fifth.
“I had some damage at that point,” said Piastri. “Lando was very quick compared to everyone, I think, so it didn’t make any sense to try and battle each other.
“In the end it meant Lando got another two spots. So it worked out well for the team.”
Piastri had been pleased with his car’s pace up to that point. “I think the pace on the hards was looking reasonable,” he said. “A few things in the red flag that didn’t help us either.
“Maybe not the right timing, but I don’t think it was [only that]. I think we could have had a better race even with the red flag.”
Despite achieving the 11th points score of his rookie season, Piastri was left wanting more. “I think with the pace we have in our car now, I don’t really think it’s that much to brag about,” he said. “So still always looking for more.
“We just struggled a bit in certain parts, and made life much, much more difficult. I think the pace with the cars around was similar. Lando was just very, very strong in the last stint and was able to carve through.”
McLaren’s team principal Andrea Stella praised Piastri’s performance, and detailed how the damage cost him pace: “We have been able to consolidate the good points finish with Oscar, who drove a very strong race with some robust racing moments, top-class defending and good race management after sustaining damage with a significant loss of aerodynamic load.”
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2023 Mexican Grand Prix
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RR
30th October 2023, 17:19
Tsunoda and Ocon in successive races have sabotaged good outcomes for Piastri. He will have to qualify higher up the grid to avoid their close company. But even then, they can still pop up as back markers eager for their trademark all or nothing duelling.
Jere (@jerejj)
30th October 2023, 18:20
Was Tom Stallard his race engineer last weekend, though?
The guy sounded different, so I thought he’d also started to rotate his garade side crew like his teammate between Will & Jose.