Piastri: We leave Jeddah in a good mood

McLaren is pleased with the results of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix as both drivers scored points and Oscar Piastri achieved a very respectable 4th place. Lando Norris’ result could have been higher, but the somewhat risky tactics the team used did not work.

Oscar Piastri (4th): “I think we achieved the best possible result in the race, that’s for sure. We did the right thing, so honestly we leave Jeddah in a good mood.

In the early stages of the race I managed to stay ahead of Fernando Alonso, although at the time I was a bit angry that I was behind Lewis Hamilton for a long time, but as soon as he made the pit stop it became easier for me.

I am very pleased with the results of the weekend, although the race showed that there are a number of areas where we need to improve. We cannot get higher than 4th place yet.

Now I plan to rest for a few days as the past few weeks have been very stressful for everyone. Then I will fly home to Melbourne, where I will spend a few more days with my family, and it will be very nice, and at the same time I will adjust to a different time zone.

I’m already looking forward to my home race, where I will have to fight on the track in front of the stands full of Australian fans.”

Lando Norris (8th): “Overall we did the race quite well. We tried to do something by changing our tactics, but in the end it didn’t quite work. However, the attempt wasn’t bad and I think we made the right decision at the time.

The car was able to maintain a very normal pace today and although we may have missed a few points, I think we did everything we could. We’ve taken some risks, and sometimes such approaches work, sometimes they don’t, and today the latter happened.

However, I am still satisfied because we showed a confident pace and saw some positive signs. So now the next race awaits us!”

Andrea Stella, team leader: “We once again achieved a good result in Saudi Arabia. Oscar rode confidently all weekend and today he took full advantage of his good starting position. He rode the race flawlessly, finishing fourth, and although his battles with his rivals were very sharp, everything went without a hitch.

In Lando’s case, we decided to use a different tactic when the safety car appeared on track, and there was a possibility that this approach would give an advantage, so it was definitely worth a try. Unfortunately, the safety car was no longer deployed and there were no red flags, causing Lando to lose a number of positions compared to the result that could be counted on. But 8th place is not bad either and he rode excellently.

We were able to gain positive experiences through the first two races of the season; we have collected a lot of information that will be useful in modernizing the car during the season. We are happy that we came close to the podium and we know what we have to work on to improve.”