The ninth-place finish in his home race leaves Oscar Piastri frustrated: “I lost it due to the sudden rain.”
Despite a weekend spent fighting for the victory, Oscar Piastri finished the Australian GP in ninth place after his off-track excursion in the final stages of the race. Thus, the curse of Australian drivers at their home Grand Prix continues: no one has ever made it to the podium.
Second in qualifying behind his teammate Lando Norris, Piastri tried to shadow the British driver for most of the race, getting within half a second of him before receiving the team order: “Maintain positions.” “Okay, but I’m faster,” replied the 2001-born driver, who stayed behind Norris as the latter opened up a gap of over 2 seconds. At that point, almost ironically, the team radioed Piastri again: “You are free to race.”
The two drivers from the Woking team had pulled away from the competition, lapping almost a second faster than the rest of the field until the rain increased in intensity during the final quarter of the race. At that point, with slick tires, both drivers went off track in the final sector: however, while Norris managed to quickly return to the track, Piastri was not so fortunate, getting stuck in the escape road before the last corner.
His race seemed to be over, so much so that the timing monitor had already classified him as retired, but the home hero wasn’t ready to give up and managed to get back on track in front of his fans. From there, car number 81 began a furious comeback, climbing from the back of the grid to ninth place, with the overtaking move on Lewis Hamilton on the outside of the fast Turn 11 as the cherry on top.
The heroic comeback, almost moving given the place where it happened, doesn’t erase the disappointment of what was a nearly certain podium and a victory that was almost within reach. “A disappointing result after a truly positive weekend. I had the speed and felt in great shape to fight for the win. Unfortunately, in the end, I lost it due to the sudden rain. Thanks to the team for all their efforts, and thanks to all the Australian fans who gave me so much positive energy and support over the past few days. It means a lot. ,” Piastri commented after the race, as reported by the McLaren statement.
The team principal, Andrea Stella, has nonetheless defended his driver: “Lando and Oscar were both driving brilliantly until they encountered a sudden wave of rain in the final sector, where Oscar paid a higher price than Lando when both went off track. He was just a bit unlucky, but if the car continues to show this level of competitiveness, he won’t have to wait long for great results,” .
Despite the meager 2 points he brought home, Piastri has plenty to be optimistic about: his MCL39 seems to be clearly the best car in the field, and, barring any further setbacks, he can look forward to many satisfactions this year.
Photo: F1.com, McLaren Racing