Oscar Piastri finished second in the Qatar GP on Sunday. The Australian started from pole position, but due to a strategic blunder by McLaren, he lost the lead to Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has thus overtaken Piastri in the world championship; the McLaren driver drops back to third place. Afterwards, he appeared defeated: “This is a particularly bitter pill to swallow.”
“I’m at a loss for words,” Piastri sighed over the team radio after the race. “We clearly didn’t get it right today,” he later told interviewer Martin Brundle. “I gave it my all and drove as hard as I could. I left nothing on the table, but today it just wasn’t meant to be.” McLaren was the only team not to opt for a free pit stop during an early safety car. Since all drivers were required to stop twice, the British racing team effectively shot itself in the foot.
“In hindsight, I think it’s very clear what we could have done better,” Piastri continued disappointedly. “We will discuss this further as a team.” Despite this, the Australian can still become champion during the season finale in Abu Dhabi. The gap to championship leader Lando Norris is still 16 points. “There are also positive things to take away,” he concluded. “The pace was incredibly high all weekend. But this remains a particularly bitter pill to swallow.”
