Oscar Piastri signs off a flawless Spanish GP with pole and win, as McLaren F1 outclass Red Bull and extend their lead.
After being outperformed by teammate Lando Norris in Monaco, Oscar Piastri set the record straight in Spain: pole, victory — the Australian reaffirmed he is indeed the favorite for the McLaren F1 title this year.
Piastri keeps it composed
He now leads Lando Norris by 10 points, though that remains a narrow margin at this stage of the season.
Even though Lando Norris managed to close the gap to within two seconds of his teammate in the final third of the race, Oscar Piastri appeared to have the race under control. Can he keep it up?
“Yes, it seemed mostly under control. I didn’t really expect Max to try a three-stop strategy, and I didn’t really expect it to work… Well, to almost work as well as it did.”
“So, there was definitely some stuff going on at that point, and with all the traffic and blue flags as well, it made the race a bit more interesting than I would have liked.”
“But apart from a few laps trying to make my way through the blue flags, I generally felt in control and was able to pick up the pace when needed.”
Piastri delivers complete weekend
“So yes, it was a really solid race and a solid weekend. I think we did a very good job of managing everything in the race: sticking to our strategic plan, not getting distracted by the three-stop strategy, very good pit stops. Yes, I think we just executed well across the board.”
Is this his most convincing win in F1 so far? His best career weekend?
“It’s certainly among the best. I don’t know if it’s the best, but it was definitely a solid weekend. It’s pretty hard to complain about the results we got this weekend.”
“And I think more importantly, it’s the effort that was put in and the analysis of some things from last week that we could have done better — we corrected course really well and came back to the form we wanted to have.”
“And yes, that’s what I’m really happy about this weekend. Definitely one of the strongest.”
Has McLaren F1 Ended the Season Already?
With another one-two finish, despite the technical directive supposedly intended (according to Red Bull) to curb their performance, McLaren F1 is tightening its grip on the championship. Does this orange car even have a weakness? Will there be a track where it might struggle, according to Oscar Piastri?
Piastri unsure of dominance
“I have no idea. I don’t know. I think in Imola we probably expected to be a bit quicker than we were, and we got beaten. I don’t know.”
“This weekend, we were probably a bit quicker than expected compared to Red Bull. I think we thought they would be a really serious threat this weekend.”
“They were with us in the race, but more due to strategy, I guess, than outright pace. But it seemed like we had a slight edge on them.”
“There will be other tracks where our competitors close the gap. There will probably be some where they are further behind. Hopefully, more of the latter than the former. But I really don’t know.”
Piastri Doesn’t Understand Verstappen’s Move at All.
Oscar Piastri also made up good ground on Max Verstappen in the standings, as the Dutchman took himself out of contention with a puzzling and frustrated move on George Russell, colliding with him…
Piastri baffled by Verstappen
The Australian refuses to criticize the Red Bull driver because he simply didn’t understand the move.
“To be honest, I don’t fully understand the context of what happened. It looked a bit strange.”
“I thought he was giving the position back… So I don’t really get what happened there. I don’t know if it was a misunderstanding, if he didn’t brake… I really don’t know.”
“I think I need a bit more context about what happened, but obviously it wasn’t exactly a light contact. But it didn’t exactly look terrible either.”
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