Oscar Piastri makes ‘pretty obvious’ claim about McLaren’s strategy immediately after the Qatar GP

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Oscar Piastri has lost second place in the championship battle after finishing P2 at the Qatar Grand Prix.

The Australian looked in command all weekend at the Lusail International Circuit. He took pole position and won the Sprint race in dominant fashion.

He continued his form in qualifying for the Qatar Grand Prix as Piastri took pole over Lando Norris and Max Verstappen. With 22 points separating the McLaren drivers, the 24-year-old needed to beat his teammate to keep his title hopes alive.

Piastri had a strong start and looked in control in the early stages, but Nico Hulkenberg and Pierre Gasly’s collision brought out the safety car on lap seven. With the Qatar GP being a mandatory two-pit stop race, the field opted to pit under the safety car, except the McLarens.

This would ultimately prove costly, as Piastri and Norris stopped on lap 25 and fell behind Verstappen. After the Dutchman stopped again on lap 32, McLaren attempted to chase him down in the latter stages, but it was to no avail.

Oscar Piastri says it is ‘pretty obvious’ that McLaren got his strategy wrong at the Qatar Grand Prix

Piastri stopped first and came out ahead of Carlos Sainz and Kimi Antonelli, allowing him to try and catch Verstappen in the closing laps. Norris came out behind the Williams and the Mercedes after his second stop, ultimately finishing fourth.

Piastri finished P2 behind Verstappen, with the result keeping him in the title fight after beating his McLaren teammate. But speaking straight after the race via Sky Sports F1, the Aussie was far from happy with his team’s strategy.

“Clearly we didn’t get it right tonight,” he said. “I drove the best race that I could and as fast as I could. There was nothing left out there. I tried my best but it wasn’t to be tonight unfortunately.

“I think in hindsight it’s pretty obvious what we would have done, but I’m sure we’ll discuss it as a team. It’s not all bad. It’s been a really good weekend and the pace has been very strong. Obviously it’s a little bit tough to swallow at the moment.”

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Where does the Qatar Grand Prix result leave Oscar Piastri in the title picture?

Following the results of the Qatar GP, Piastri is now P3 in the drivers’ championship and 16 points behind his teammate. Verstappen has moved four points ahead of him with his win.

It makes the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix a three-way fight for the title. But Piastri will be absolutely livid, as he now faces an almost impossible challenge to win the championship.

Norris and Verstappen would have to finish outside of the top five for the Aussie to clinch the title, provided he wins in Abu Dhabi. It is a completely different situation to what he faced a few months ago, having been 34 points in the lead after Zandvoort.

Piastri has said his 2025 season has been better than expected, but given he had a great chance at the title, that is not the mentality he should have. 2025 could be the only chance he has at becoming a champion, and that looks to be all but gone.