Following the British Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri told the media that “It was a very difficult one to get right”. The entire weekend at Silverstone and especially Sunday, McLaren was confronted with ‘the hardest decisions’ a team can have to make in Formula 1.
Despite this, Oscar Piastri decided to focus on the positive and showed no ill will towards his team. He appeared united in front of difficulties on the international stage. “I think we made a lot of good decisions in the race” were his words. Which he emphasized by asserting that McLaren had ‘good moments’ during the race.
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Oscar Piastri crossed the finish line in 4th position. Behind his teammate, Lando Norris, who was able to put a foot on the podium at home. He was told to stay out for an extra lap before pitting and “was okay with the decision”.
The rest of the grid entering the pit for inters. The team had the choice to double stack or leave the second driver out. With Norris in P1 and Piastri in P2, this meant the Australian stayed out.
Thus, he admitted he “unfortunately lost so much time staying out of that extra lap on slick”. This decision caused him to fall to 6th position. He went on to talk about how he felt about the situation at that exact moment of the race :
“I knew I was gonna lose a lot of time if we double stacked (…) since I was, you know, half a second behind Lando at that point. As soon as I went past pit entry that I was in a lot of trouble, but that’s how it goes.“
‘There are definitely some things to review‘
The young Australian remained really aware of the importance of McLaren’s decision. Oscar Piastri further elaborated by explaining that it was the ‘hardest call you’re ever going to have in motor racing’. It still cost him the podium.
He says it was “kind of a joint decision”. Piastri admitted that they just need to review whether they ‘had any more’ they could have used to make a ‘better call’ there.
Carlos Sainz, who was interviewed at the same time was open about how “McLaren was quite a bit quicker today.”
Oscar Piastri, however, still repsonded, seemingly with a bitter taste in his mouth that the team “were wrong today,” and that “It was very difficult to do well.” Which caused the team to be put in trouble.
Lando Norris’ teammate was very mixed with the situation. He was disappointed with his P3 finish. Nevertheless, Piastri chooses to conclude with encouraging words, sounding like an attempt to reassure himself and his team:
“I think our car has always been very strong, so that helps, but it doesn’t get any tougher than that.“
Oscar nonetheless found himself gaining on the field in his final stint on mediums. Leaving many to wonder what could’ve been, had he not stayed out that extra lap.
Will the Hungarian circuit and weather give him another chance to win?