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The recent Italian Grand Prix highlighted both the weaknesses of Red Bull and the progress and strengths of McLaren, which managed to place both of its drivers in the top three. This season, McLaren is demonstrating massive potential, but the question remains whether they can truly capitalize on it.
Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle focused on McLaren’s performances in one of his columns, praising Oscar Piastri's drive and mentality. The media has extensively discussed the recent race and McLaren's decision to leave Piastri in second place. Brundle believes Piastri’s attitude towards his teammate is particularly noteworthy.
“Piastri clearly has no interest in Norris' world championship chances against Max Verstappen, which we'd already witnessed in Hungary when he firmly seized the lead in the first corner,” Brundle wrote (Sky Sports)
“The racer in me admires this attitude. That's why Piastri won championships and ended up in a race-winning F1 car. The last thing which will excite him is Norris becoming world champion in the same car."
Brundle did not dismiss the possibility that Piastri might help Norris in the coming weeks, but he clearly emphasized that Piastri's primary focus is on himself. Piastri is determined to become unstoppable and achieve the goals he has set for himself.
“That doesn't mean he won't help out at some point, and indeed that he hasn't helped out here and there already, but that racer's mentality and killer instinct is all important."- he continued.
Brundle recalled questioning during the Hungary race whether, if the roles had been reversed, Piastri would have given the lead back to Norris. He admitted that he wasn't sure how Piastri would have responded in that situation. However, he stressed that many world champions he has competed against in the past, who were known for their ruthlessness and self-interest, likely would not have returned the favor.
Oscar Piastri reflects on the last race
The 23-year-old Australian admitted after the race that it was painful not to secure the victory. Piastri believes that his team did everything necessary to achieve a win. At times, they took risks and were willing to do whatever it took for success, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to clinch the win.
"It hurts. I'm not going to lie, it hurts a lot,” said Piastri, as quoted by Motor Sport.
“We did a lot of things right. There were a lot of question marks on the strategy going into the race. From the position we were in with the tyres looking like they did, doing a one-stop seemed like a very risky call."
The young driver highlighted many important moments during the race, particularly noting his satisfaction with the pace he maintained from the start. Piastri expressed delight with his performance overall. However, with his high ambitions, he had dreamed of finishing in first place. Unfortunately for him, his story didn't reach its full potential in Italy, but it would be absurd not to be happy with a second-place finish.
"In the end, [stopping once] was right. Very, very happy with the pace, with the race that I managed to achieve... just, when you finished second it hurts.”- he continued.
When asked if he thought he could have successfully executed a one-stop strategy, Piastri said that, in retrospect, it might have been possible. However, he acknowledged that it's easy to make judgments after the race, and admitted that he played a huge role in the decision that didn’t pan out as hoped. It’s difficult to always expect things to be ideal and to turn out as anticipated. Piastri made a move he believed would deliver the results they needed, despite the difficulties and uncertainties inherent in the race.
Piastri stressed that being in the lead meant there was a lot at stake, and that Charles Leclerc had the opportunity to try a different approach. Since Leclerc was going to finish in third place regardless, he took a risk that ultimately paid off.
Piastri also mentioned that his front left tire was worn, and they didn’t expect it to perform better later on, though it did.
Although Piastri tries to maintain optimism, there is a noticeable bitter taste in his words and on his face after the race, given his aspirations for victory. He also made sure to congratulate the opposing team, Ferrari, which took a step further this time and secured the win. For McLaren’s team leaders, the key takeaway is the sense of progress. Their team is moving forward step by step, and there is no doubt that they have the potential to achieve great things.
Piastri hopes for exciting developments as the season progresses.
English (US)