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Juan Pablo Montoya has admitted that he was ‘surprised’ by how Oscar Piastri raced Charles Leclerc during the Miami Grand Prix.
As a result, the young Italian extended his lead over Mercedes teammate George Russell at the top of the standings to 20 points.
Further down the grid, it was a tough ending for Leclerc, who spun in the closing stages while chasing Piastri, dropping him down to sixth before a 20-second penalty meant he finished eighth in the final race order.
Here’s how the championship standings look after the Miami GP! 🏆
Juan Pablo Montoya ‘surprised’ by how Oscar Piastri raced Charles Leclerc in Miami
Speaking on the BBC’s Chequered Flag, ex-Formula 1 driver Montoya said that he was left ‘hitting the table’ at how Piastri raced against Leclerc.
The Colombian, who drove for Williams and McLaren during his career, claimed that the Ferrari set-up was ‘too aggressive’ and stated that Piastri could have overtaken Leclerc much earlier than he did.
Montoya said: “The Ferrari had really good short speed, like short run speed, basically, I think their set-up was way too aggressive. The way they are running the car is too aggressive.
“Putting too much energy in the back tyres and Miami is a really high-deg place. Where the rears are sensitive to temperature, and that’s the end result.
“I was surprised, for example, when Oscar was racing him, Oscar had like three times before he passed him, where he could have gone for it.
“I was doing Spanish, watching, and I’m going, hitting the tables like come on! It’s there! Take it! I think the Ferrari with the upgrades became much quicker, but it’s a little harder to drive.
“Lewis, we couldn’t see his true pace in the race. I think he would’ve been a lot closer to Charles, but he got damage with Colapinto.”
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Oscar Piastri ‘wasn’t that pleased’ with George Russell during Miami Grand Prix
Before clinching a spot on the podium, Piastri had to battle with several cars, including the likes of Leclerc and Russell.
Speaking after the race during the press conference, Piastri admitted that the new rules have made it tough to anticipate as a ‘defending driver’.
The Australian also said that he was not too pleased with one move Russell did, but admitted he found himself doing the same thing.
As per Fox Sports, Piastri said: “It’s a bit random, all the closing speeds are huge. Trying to anticipate that as the defending driver is incredibly tough to do.
“I wasn’t that pleased with one the moves George did but I found myself almost doing the same move five laps later, just because the closing speed is enormous.
“From that side of things, not much has changed. Some changes in the future are still needed for sure.”
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