Piastri is “surprised” that the incident with Gasly caused so much damage
After giving McLaren its first entry into Q3 of the season at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, Oscar Piastri lost everything at the start, following contact with Pierre Gasly.
By joining the McLaren team, the 21-year-old Australian probably didn’t expect to have such challenging first races in F1 and a far-from-performing MCL60.
Two races and no points
Qualified 18th in Bahrain, he was forced to retire during the race due to electronic issues.
Two weeks later, in Jeddah, Oscar Piastri had a good start to the weekend, managing to place his single-seater in the top eight (8th), while his teammate Lando Norris failed to make it through Q1 (19th).
Despite this great performance, the next day, he quickly lost the advantage of his position on the grid, with a contact at the exit of the second turn at the start with the Frenchman Pierre Gasly.
Piastri had to go through the pit lane to change his damaged front wing. And as if that wasn’t enough, Norris also found himself affected by the collision after hitting several debris from his neighbor’s car and also had to pass through the pit lane.
In the end, even though both drivers finished the race, the English team once again leaves without a single point, with Piastri crossing the finish line in P15 and Norris in P17. These performances have led to the separation of McLaren and its technical director, James Key. [link to article about James Key leaving McLaren]
Piastri gives his version of the accident
After the Jeddah Grand Prix, Piastri did not hide that he was surprised by the damages encountered in the first lap.
« I think it was really just an incident from the first lap, at turn 1 », commented Piastri. « The contact was really minimal, so I was honestly quite surprised to have any damage. But yes, it’s a shame. »
« The rest of the race was reasonable. I gained good experience by learning to use the battery at the end, with overtaking and other things like that. I was happy to see the end of the race. »
The F3/F2 champion was subsequently questioned about the possibility of the team scoring points without that contact on the first lap. He emphasizes that it is difficult to say where McLaren’s pace stood compared to the others.
« I’m not 100% sure, to be honest. I’m not sure our pace has been very good. I think doing 49 laps with the hard tires is not very good for the race pace! »
We will have to sit down and see how things stand.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are currently at the bottom of the World Drivers’ Championship.
