After a sharp first-lap pass at the Italian GP, Oscar Piastri nearly clinched another win but ultimately yielded to Leclerc’s one-stop gamble.
After executing a fine pass on his teammate Lando Norris during the first lap of the Italian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri seemed on track for his second Formula 1 victory. However, the McLaren driver had to concede to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who successfully managed a one-stop strategy. The Australian admitted that he should have opted for a similar approach.
“For me, it was a big risk to do it. You know, tire graining was a major issue throughout the weekend. During free practice, once you had graining, that was it. Even in the first stint on the mediums, it was quite tough. And yes, when we made the second stop, for my part, my left front tire was very grained, and, you know, I was getting slower and slower. So it seemed wise to pit again.”
“I guess no one really expected the graining to disappear on Charles, from what I heard. So yes, in hindsight, it is clear that stopping once was the right thing to do. But at that point in the race, with all the information we had collected over the weekend, it seemed incredibly risky. You know, it’s kind of the blessing and the curse of being in the lead. The guys behind you can react to what you do. And for Charles, if he had made two stops, he would have been stuck in third place. And if he had made one stop and his performance had collapsed, he would still have finished third. But of course, he managed to stop once and both Ferrari and he are the heroes of the weekend. Yes, obviously, it hurts at the moment, but I think at that time, it was the right thing to do.”
Could Piastri have made such a strategy work by driving a bit slower at certain moments of the Grand Prix? The McLaren F1 driver kept improving the best lap time during the first stint. Was this ultimately a mistake?
“I need to review the race and see what the level of graining on Charles’ car was when I made my second stop. Up to that point, it was a pretty controlled race. We felt quite early that it was a two-stop race and perhaps, in hindsight, there are things we could have done a bit differently in terms of strategy, but also from a driving perspective to keep the options a bit more open. But if the information I received on the radio is accurate, it wasn’t really about driving slower. Obviously, it was the right thing to do in hindsight, but everyone is much smarter after the checkered flag has been waved.”
Piastri was “optimistic” about catching up to Leclerc.
Piastri’s overtaking move on Norris will remain one of the race’s highlights, enabling the Australian to outpace his teammate that Sunday. How did he experience the maneuver?
“I braked later and went around the outside. There wasn’t much more to it. We both came out unscathed. I knew once I had braked, I had gained a bit of an edge and I had the right to stay on the outside. And yes, ultimately, for 38 laps of this race, it put me in a position to win. So yes, for me, it was just a good first lap.”
With fresher tires, Piastri was closing in on Leclerc towards the end of the Grand Prix, but he could never get close enough to the Ferrari. Still, the McLaren driver believed in the possibility.
“I immediately asked what pace I needed to catch Charles. And the pace I needed was basically what I did in the early laps. And at that point, I was quite optimistic. You know, I lost quite a bit of time behind Carlos. Stroll was driving like it was his first karting race and I don’t know what he was thinking when he saw the blue flag. That cost me an extra second. And, yes, you know, I needed this stint to be perfect to win this race. And these little things ultimately cost us a small chance. Anyway, we wouldn’t have had much of a chance, but yes. We were close to making it. I pushed hard to try to do it. I couldn’t have gone any faster than that. I fell a bit short.”
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Piastri’s Bold Move Falls Short to Leclerc Piastri’s Bold Move Falls Short to Leclerc
