Piastri Questions F1 Winner Status Amid Sprint Doubts

Piastri Questions F1 Winner Status Amid Sprint Doubts

30/04/2024

Oscar Piastri expresses doubts about his status as an F1 winner due to the ambiguous nature of Sprint races, despite a victory in Qatar last season.

Oscar Piastri has confessed he is not a big fan of the Sprint format in F1, despite winning one last season in Qatar.

The Australian prefers traditional F1 weekends and acknowledges a grey area concerning Sprints and the implications of a victory in a 100-kilometer race.

“I agree with what Lando [Norris] said, I always prefer a normal race weekend.”

“The Sprint offers a chance to add some extra excitement, and I think we’ve seen some good Sprints in the past. But it’s still a bit of a strange grey area.”

“Is it a race, is it not a race? I am the example following what I achieved last year in Qatar: am I an F1 race winner or am I not a race winner?”

“Nobody can give me an answer, everything is unclear.”

The McLaren driver explained how the ambiguity about the standing of sprints in the F1 career achievement hierarchy creates “quirks” for him as the only driver currently to have achieved this.

Since the format was first introduced in 2021, two years before Piastri’s F1 debut, Max Verstappen, Sergio Perez, Valtteri Bottas, and George Russell have all won sprint victories.

However, as they have each also won at least one Grand Prix, they are readily considered winners in F1.

“It’s a very tricky position, let’s say. It creates quirks. I guess that’s where most of my discomfort lies – I’m therefore not a big fan of the format.”

Piastri Questions F1 Winner Status Amid Sprint Doubts

Piastri Questions F1 Winner Status Amid Sprint Doubts. Piastri Questions F1 Winner Status Amid Sprint Doubts

F1 Standings 2025
F1 Standings 2025
#
Driver
Points
1
Driver Flag
Max Verstappen
Red Bull
0
2
Driver Flag
Lando Norris
McLaren
0
3
Driver Flag
Charles Leclerc
Ferrari
0
4
Driver Flag
Oscar Piastri
McLaren
0
5
Driver Flag
Carlos Sainz
Williams
0
6
Driver Flag
George Russell
Mercedes
0
#
Team
Points
1
McLaren
Norris & Piastri
0
2
Ferrari
Leclerc & Hamilton
0
3
Red Bull
Verstappen & Lawson
0
4
Mercedes
Russell & Antonelli
0
5
Aston Martin
Alonso & Stroll
0
6
Alpine
Gasly & Doohan
0
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Australian
Albert Park
16 Mar
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Chinese
Shanghai International
23 Mar
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Japanese
Suzuka Circuit
6 Apr
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Bahrain
Bahrain International
13 Apr
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Saudi Arabian
Jeddah Street
20 Apr
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13 Mar - 16 Mar
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