McLaren’s Oscar Piastri has called his P4 (+27.337s) finish “little bit disappointing“, after missing out on a podium spot during the 2024 Dutch GP. The Australian racer even took the blame for his podium miss, admitting he was “not being competitive enough when it mattered” at Circuit Zandvoort.
Despite missing the podium, Piastri delivered an outstanding performance at the 2024 Dutch GP. The McLaren #2 showcased his growing confidence and skill, steadily progressing throughout the challenging race at Circuit Zandvoort.
Starting from P3, he lost a position at the start but settled into fourth place as the race unfolded. His teammate Lando Norris stormed to victory from pole position, highlighting the intense pace of the McLaren package at the Dutch circuit.
As the race progressed, Piastri demonstrated his ability to manage his tyres and maintain consistent lap times. The McLaren pit wall strategically extended his first stint, providing him with clean air to push before pitting for hard tires on Lap 33.
Moreover, his stint on the complex compound proved a turning point in his race. With fresh rubber, he could close the gap to George Russell ahead. On lap 39, the Aussie made a decisive move, overtaking Russell to claim fourth position.
With his sights set on the podium, Piastri began to close in on Charles Leclerc. However, the dirty air from the Ferrari ahead proved a significant obstacle. Despite his best efforts, he could not find a way past Leclerc, ultimately finishing the race in fourth place.
Regarding his performance, the Australian came out to express himself after the 2024 Dutch GP concluded.
Piastri thinks P4 finish is ‘little bit disappointing’ at the Dutch GP
In the post-race interview with Sky Sports, Oscar Piastri admitted that his performance at Circuit Zandvoort was a “little bit disappointing” from his side. Claiming “dirty air behind the Ferrari” to be the main drawback, he said:
“Some great points for the team, especially with Lando’s win, but a little bit disappointing on my side.”
“I made some good progress, but I got stuck in the dirty air behind the Ferrari, who had more pace than we were expecting, so I couldn’t maximize the points on my side.”
Despite the frustration of his podium miss, he remained optimistic about the team’s prospects for the remainder of the season. Reflecting on the MCL38’s potential, he continued by adding:
“However, we’ve got a quick car, so the next part of the season is going to be pretty fun. I am looking forward to it.”
Following these words, he was heard discussing his race performance in more depth in another interview.
Piastri takes the blame for Zandvoort podium miss
In a separate media session, Oscar Piastri admitted that he was “not being competitive enough when it mattered” during the race. He even talked about his ‘in-race’ battles with George Russell and Charles Leclerc in Zandvoort.
Quizzed on the key factor of his podium miss, he acknowledged that falling behind Russell was the main reason. Noting this, he quoted by saying:
“That’s one part of the puzzle.”
“Realistically, it started with qualifying, just not being competitive enough when it mattered.”
“The start obviously didn’t help things, it just kind of boxed us in a little bit.”
“I think the pace in clean air was quite strong and clearly the car was quick today.”
Piastri pitted eight laps after Russell and nine laps later than Leclerc, rejoining the track behind both drivers. However, he quickly caught up and overtook Russell for fourth place. Soon after, he closed in on the Ferrari ahead, but his challenge was hindered. Reflecting on his battle with Leclerc, he added:
“Just I spent about 60 of the 70 laps within a second of the car in front, so that made life pretty painful.”
“Even in the first stint, it wasn’t straightforward to keep Leclerc behind.”
“Then in the second stint, it was a bit stronger than I expected.”
“A little bit surprising. Days like this happen with these cars, it seems.”
“Even for ourselves, there’s been a few races like that, and some races where it can be the opposite as well, where you have a really strong Saturday and then Sunday, it’s just not quite the same.”
McLaren unveiled a significant upgrade package at Zandvoort, enabling Norris to win the race by over 20 seconds. Although he had a slow start, falling behind Max Verstappen, he quickly regained his position. Before the pit stop window, Norris passed the Red Bull driver and pulled ahead.
While Piastri did not match that performance level, he matched his teammate’s lap times when opportunities arose. Reflecting on this, he continued by saying:
“There were definitely moments of the weekend where I felt very strong and very comfortable.”
“Friday was pretty strong, especially over one lap. Even qualifying was looking very strong, just I didn’t find enough on the last lap of qualifying and then that made life a bit more painful.”
“Accompanied by a bad start today, it really kind of set the tone for the afternoon.”
As the F1 circus moves on to Monza for the Italian GP, Piastri will be keen to build on his strong showing at Zandvoort and challenge for his first podium finish. Pointing this out, he concluded by saying:
“When your teammate wins by 20 seconds, clearly there’s things to work on and improve, so I’ll try and make sure that I’m back in the game next weekend.”
With his fourth-placed finish at Zandvoort, the McLaren #2 is currently sitting at P4 of the 2024 Driver Standings with 179 points. The race at Monza will be a vital one for him and the Ferrari drivers, as they all are within ‘position-losing’ range in the standings.
Image Credit: McLaren F1
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