Oscar Piastri said he turned his personal disappointment into motivation to succeed on Sunday after he produced an impressive drive to his sixth victory of the season in the rain-delayed Belgian Grand Prix.
The 24-year-old Australian was disappointed with himself on Saturday when he was beaten by title rival and McLaren team-mate Lando Norris in qualifying for Sunday’s race, but he turned the tables with a masterly lap one passing move after a rolling start on a damp track.
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He then hung on and, after pitting to switch from intermediates to slicks, he managed his medium compound tyres perfectly to stay ahead of Norris, running on a more durable hard tyre, in the closing stages to win and extend his lead in the title race to 16 points.
“I knew lap one was going to be probably my best chance of winning the race,” said Piastri. “I got a good exit out of Turn One and then lifted a little as I dipped through Eau Rouge and it was enough.
“The rest of the race we managed really well. I was struggling a bit at the end — so maybe the medium wasn’t the best for the last five or six laps, but we had it mostly under control, which is what I wanted.
“I was pretty disappointed with myself after yesterday, but it turns out starting second in Spa isn’t too bad after all!”
He added that he was concerned that the rolling start, after four laps behind the Safety Car, would reduce his chance to grab the initiative, but showed he was sharp and focussed by taking advantage of Norris at the first opportunity.
“I got a good exit out of Turn One and was able to stay close and then, when I was going close, I just knew I was going to lift a little bit less than Lando (Norris) did and try and keep it on the track.
“It was a bit lively up over the hill, but I managed to make it stick and then, from there, the tow helped me out.” –
‘Difficult conditions’ –
He said he knew that tyre strategy was going to be critical and expected Norris’s decision to take hard tyres – the only driver to do so when all the rest went for mediums.
“I had the same plan, if I was going to be second, so I kind of knew that was going to be a likely decision for Lando. For me, medium was the safest tyre to be on at that point.
“You never know if someone is going to crash and there’s a Safety Car and you want a medium for the restart. Also, the medium seemed pretty good in the sprint yesterday so I think it didn’t make too much difference.
“But when you’re fighting like that, one-two, you’re always going to try and get an advantage in one way or another.” Norris admitted he had not done enough to win the race as he slipped 16 points behind Piastri in the championship after 13 of the 24 races.
“He had a better start and he deserved it today,” said Norris, who made three mistakes in the difficult conditions.
“It’s should-a, would-a, could-a…. Oscar deserved it. I’m sure he would have made a couple of mistakes too and I’ll review my own. It’s a great result for the team our first 1-2 here in many years.” It was McLaren’s first Belgian triumph since Jenson Button won from pole in 2012
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