McLaren admit Oscar Piastri error at the Brazilian GP as championship gap to Lando Norris increases

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McLaren driver Oscar Piastri has seen his championship challenge stutter and stall over the past few race weekends.

The Sao Paulo Grand Prix was always going to be an incredibly important event for Oscar Piastri.

Piastri went into the weekend a single point behind McLaren teammate Lando Norris with 33 points up for grabs across the Sprint event.

However, as soon as Norris took pole position in the Sprint Race, the 24-year-old was on the back foot.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli had his best weekend in Formula 1, starting both races from second and claiming P2 each time he took the chequered flag at Interlagos, making Piastri’s life more difficult before his frustrating Sprint crash behind the Mercedes driver.

The top 10 shootout during qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix was the closest in F1 history, and Piastri had to settle for fourth as a result.

His overambitious move after the safety car saw Piastri handed a 10-second penalty, and with it, his chances of catching Norris and closing the gap in the drivers’ championship disappeared.

Piastri could only finish fifth, meaning the gap to Norris has grown to 24 points with three race weekends remaining.

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McLaren admit they didn’t get ‘everything right’ as Oscar Piastri’s championship hopes fade

Norris’ victory over Antonelli and Max Verstappen continued his brilliant recent form after winning by more than half a minute at the previous race in Mexico City.

Piastri couldn’t get close enough to George Russell to take P4 in the closing stages, and on the team radio after the race, he received a message from the team that stated: “And pick up rubber where you can. Pick up rubber where you can.

“That’s P5, Oscar. Your tyre management was good.

“I don’t think we got everything right there. And obviously, with the penalty, difficult to catch back up.

“But pace, tyre usage, everything was good.”

When Piastri pitted for the first time in the race and took his 10-second penalty, he was put on the soft compound tyres.

The Australian came on the team radio and questioned the decision, wondering whether it was the smartest strategy.

He said: “I hope you’re a bit more optimistic than I am because it doesn’t look very pretty from where I’m sat.”

The reply he received stated: “This looks best to us, Oscar, because of the expected deg on the soft.”

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Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg might provide a clue to McLaren’s Oscar Piastri mistake at the Brazilian Grand Prix

Piastri started on the medium compound tyres, meaning that when he went into the pits, he had to switch onto either the soft or hard compound to complete the race.

McLaren went with the soft tyres and presumed that they wouldn’t be able to complete the race.

However, Verstappen was able to push on the softs during his final stint and didn’t appear to be struggling for performance.

What’s more, Liam Lawson and Nico Hulkenberg finished in the points on one-stop strategies, with the Sauber driver using the soft tyres at the end of the race.

McLaren chose a conservative option at a time when Piastri had to take risks to keep his championship hopes alive.

Piastri wanted to put pressure on Norris across the weekend, but all eyes will be on the Australian in Las Vegas to see if he can significantly close the gap.