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Oscar Piastri was denied an almost certain win as McLaren blundered his strategy at the Qatar Grand Prix.
The Australian was dominant at the Lusail International Circuit as he claimed pole position and victory at the Sprint race. He kept up the momentum in qualifying as he took pole over his McLaren teammate, Lando Norris.
Piastri looked to be in control at the start, until Nico Hulkenberg brought out the safety car on lap seven. McLaren kept their drivers out on track, as did Haas with Esteban Ocon, while the rest of the field came in for their first of two mandatory pit stops.
Who has been your Qatar Grand Prix Driver of the Day?
The decision cost the Woking outfit victory as Max Verstappen won the Qatar Grand Prix, with Piastri finishing second and Norris in fourth.
Andrea Stella and Zak Brown were ‘shellshocked’ after the race. Piastri was also at a loss for words; a victory was in his grasp, and he was displaying the pace that merited maximum points.
Martin Brundle saw ‘vintage’ Oscar Piastri with his overtake on Kimi Antonelli at the Qatar Grand Prix
Piastri was the man to beat all weekend at the Qatar Grand Prix. After his first stop on lap 25, he fought back through the field into second behind Verstappen.
On lap 30, he produced a great lunge into turn one on Kimi Antonelli, which was a delight for Martin Brundle. Speaking via Sky Sports F1, he felt the moment was ‘vintage’ Piastri, which has not been seen in recent races.
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“It was a lunge and he had the confidence and the grip, and this is vintage Piastri. We haven’t seen this for half a dozen races.
“That’s the confidence that we saw from Oscar Piastri earlier on in the year. We didn’t see it on the restart in Brazil, for example, but just: ‘I’m taking that place off you’, and that was a key move for him as Lando Norris gets his first warning for track limits at turn 10.”
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McLaren will allow Oscar Piastri to race in Abu Dhabi – but is it too late for his title chances?
Piastri says it was ‘pretty obvious’ that McLaren were wrong with their strategy in Qatar. The team admitted their wrongdoings after the race, but it may be too late for the Aussie and his championship hopes.
He has lost P2 in the standings to Verstappen, sitting 16 points behind Norris ahead of the season finale in Abu Dhabi. It is possible that he can win the title, but it would require his rivals to finish outside of the top five, and Piastri to win the race.
Who is your pick for the 2025 champion after the Qatar Grand Prix?
McLaren will not implement team orders in Abu Dhabi and will allow Piastri to race Norris. However, with such a large gap to make up, their strategic blunder in Qatar may have ended the 24-year-old’s hopes in 2025.
Brundle saw Piastri was ‘broken’ after the race. With little time to recover from Qatar, he could also not be in the right mindset come Abu Dhabi.
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