Oscar Piastri: An interesting battle ahead!

In Qatar, Oscar Piastri won the sprint, climbed to the podium in the race and is satisfied with the results of the weekend…

Question: Oscar, eighth podium, great job. But you made a mistake at the pit stop, when you changed the tires just before the safety car came out…
Oscar Piastri: Unfortunately. Sometimes you’re lucky, sometimes you’re not. This happened quite often this year, but luck was also with us.

The race pace was decent, but the lack of speed in the right places made it difficult to get close. Then I went much faster on the free track.

It would have been difficult to fight for the win given the way I started and the way the first part of the race went, but I’m happy to be on the podium.

Q: Before this weekend, McLaren believed you would be more competitive. Did you expect a greater speed advantage over your rivals?
Oscar Piastri: Yes and no. Now this circuit is very different in terms of grip than last year, and our car is also very different from last year under certain conditions. Some of our strengths that were there last year are no longer strong. This also applies to weaknesses. This year we have a more balanced car.

The different grip level took away some of the strengths we had last year. I expected the fight to be close, but I didn’t think it would be this close.

Question: What do you expect from the car at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix? How do you see the battle with Ferrari?
Oscar Piastri: I hope everything goes well with us. The Abu Dhabi circuit is a little more suitable for Ferrari, but we won’t be slow. The top four teams at the moment are very, very close to each other. An interesting battle lies ahead!

Question: Are you surprised that the safety car came out just a few laps after the mirror was left on the tarmac at the end of the straight? What do you think of this situation?
Oscar Piastri: I think the most correct thing would be to immediately set the virtual security machine mode or release a real one.

I didn’t know where the mirror was until I saw it on the big screen. I can’t imagine what we would have done, but it was impossible to attack in the first corner. It was necessary to remove it immediately before someone got a flat tire.