Oscar Piastri would no doubt have been part of celebrations at McLaren after Lando Norris won the Miami Grand Prix. It was the team’s first victory since Monza 2021.
But racing drivers are some of the most competitive beings on the planet. Deep down, Piastri must have been hurting at the sight of his team beating him to a maiden victory.
The odds were stacked against the Australian in that regard. This was only his 28th race start, while Norris was making his 110th.
What’s more, he missed out on a strong haul of points in Miami through no fault of his own. Piastri was actually running ahead of Norris for much of the race.
He made an excellent start to climb from sixth to third and then passed Charles Leclerc in the early stages to take second. But he came into the pits just before the safety car, and ultimately dropped to fourth.
Piastri then engaged in a prolonged battle with Carlos Sainz, which culminated in contact at the penultimate corner. Sainz received a five-second penalty for the incident after the race.
That would have been little comfort for Piastri, who had to replace his front wing in the pits and tumbled down the order. He crossed the line in 13th place.
Oscar Piastri on ‘mixed emotions’ after Lando Norris win
Speaking to F1TV after the race, Piastri shared his feelings after seeing Norris take the victory. He says McLaren ‘deserved’ to have both cars at the sharp end.
While he feels his teammate relied on some ‘good fortune’ to win, he’s taking solace from the manner in which he pulled away from Max Verstappen after the restart. McLaren bolted an ‘astonishing’ upgrade package onto their car for the race, though Piastri only had a partial version.
“I think we did a lot of things right in the first half of the race,” he said. “A bit unfortunate with the Safety Car timing obviously, and then just kind of unravelled from there. Obviously a really good day for the team, they deserved to have both cars up there.
“But yeah, a really encouraging day in terms of the pace and obviously to get a win on pace. A little bit of good fortune involved but Lando had the pace after, which I think is incredibly encouraging. So overall mixed emotions, but very, very happy for the team.”
Piastri will be able to use the upgrade in its totality at the next race in Imola in a fortnight’s time. He’s still searching for his first podium of the year.
Oscar Piastri already has an F1 win of sorts
While he’s still waiting for a Grand Prix win, Piastri has already taken the chequered flag in an F1 race. Last year, he was one of two drivers (alongside Sainz) to deny Red Bull.
Piastri beat Verstappen to win the sprint race in Qatar on a weekend where McLaren were rapid. Norris even argued he could have won on the Sunday but for a mistake in qualifying.
The Briton’s long-awaited victory in Miami marks a significant chapter in the developing rivalry at Woking. It could be a long-term battle after both drivers signed contract extensions.
Journalist Peter Windsor has claimed that Piastri possesses ‘even more potential’ than his more experienced teammate. Indeed, Mark Hughes says he boasts one of the traits of seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown has admitted that the pair of them will almost certainly ‘tangle’ at some point. But he’ll accept the problems inherent in having one of the most desirable driver line-ups on the grid.
Indeed, Red Bull director Helmut Marko has said he ‘would love’ to sign one of the two in the future. And that interest could become real if Verstappen leaves.
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