Oscar Piastri survived two close shaves and a scrap with Max Verstappen to limit the damage of his Monaco Grand Prix weekend with a third-place finish in the race.
As Piastri defended his podium position from Verstappen on Lap 10, the Australian left the Red Bull driver no room on the inside as they exited the chicane and approached Tabac corner.
Complicating the matter further was the fact that there were double-waved yellow flags on the exit of the chicane due to some debris left on the track, meaning no overtaking was allowed.
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That didn’t stop Verstappen from trying his luck — and he was furious on team radio after being blocked.
“He would’ve taken my front wing off,” Verstappen said. “He didn’t leave space.
“What is that? We would’ve crashed — I had a right to be there”.
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Piastri, however, did not have a case to answer given the yellow flags and the fact Verstappen was not yet alongside him, and eventually finished in third. Verstappen was fourth but a comfortable 17 seconds behind the McLaren driver.
Piastri might’ve gained no points at all, however, if it wasn’t for surviving two big scares with the track barriers.
The Australian’s left-rear tyre clipped the wall on the exit of Turn 1, where he suffered a heavy crash during practice on Friday.
He again clipped the steel wall with his front right tyre, and he said after the race: “I think I’ve hit more walls this weekend than I have in my whole career. It’s been untidy…”
Meanwhile, Piastri said he never felt like he was comfortable across the weekend and therefore was happy to settle for third.
“Obviously, the win would have been better, but it’s been a bit of a tricky weekend,” Piastri said.
“Practice was messy all the way through, and I felt like I got into qualifying with not a lot of confidence with how the weekend was going.
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“I got close, but not quite close enough.
“Around here, where you qualify is pretty much where you’re going to finish so pretty happy with that overall.
“Obviously, some things to look out for when we come back next year, but some more points on the board, another trip to the podium in Monaco, so not all bad.”
He later added: “I’m happy with that overall. More points on the board and another trip to the podium in Monaco. Well done to Lando on the win.
“It’s been a tricky weekend for me – I got close yesterday but not quite close enough, so there are a few things to work on for next year – but if this is a tricky weekend then it’s really not going too badly at all.”
Piastri is still the championship leader, but had seen his 13-point gap to Norris shrink to just three points.
The next race is one June 1 in Spain.
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