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Oscar Piastri showed a level of maturity and calmness during the Japanese Grand Prix despite McLaren’s blunder costing him a win.
Kimi Antonelli felt challenged by Piastri’s performance despite managing to win the race and keep the McLaren star at bay quite comfortably.
McLaren looked far more competitive with Mercedes, with Piastri doing a great job putting both Mercedes drivers under pressure.
No Mercedes one-two in Japan!
Oscar Piastri takes second, with Charles Leclerc third
Piastri held off George Russell in particular quite well, not letting the Mercedes star get the better of him for longer than a lap.
And even though McLaren’s pit strategy for Piastri ended up costing him a possible race win, he ended up showing a great deal of maturity in the moment and after securing his P2 finish.
READ MORE: Oscar Piastri surprised McLaren by masking the MCL40’s two main flaws in the Japanese Grand Prix
Oscar Piastri’s calmness over McLaren safety car blunder captured on radio
During the Japanese Grand Prix, Oliver Bearman’s crash led to a safety car that brought the race to a stall. This gave Mercedes the opportunity to pit Kimi Antonelli and put him on a new pair of hard tyres.
Unfortunately, McLaren weren’t able to do the same, having pitted both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris just a few laps ago.
When Piastri was informed of the safety car, he had no outward reaction over the team radio. Instead, he stayed calm and asked about the positions his rivals were taking.
“Is Antonelli still out?…”
After the race was over, Piastri was in good spirits, thanking his McLaren team members. While he lamented the safety car issue, he didn’t blame anyone or get upset about it.
“Wow. Turns out when we start these things, we’re pretty good. Well done, everybody. That was a great weekend.
“Unfortunate about the safety car. I think we’ve still got a bit of time to find. But well done, everybody. We deserve that. Thank you.”
READ MORE: David Coulthard raises Oscar Piastri ‘series of mistakes’ concern for Kimi Antonelli in title fight
McLaren score their first podium of 2026 at the Japanese Grand Prix!
How many will they grab in total this season?
Oscar Piastri’s response was drastically different from George Russell
Piastri was subdued and grateful towards his team during and after the race was over. His reaction to the strategy error was very different from George Russell’s.
Russell was not happy with Mercedes’ pit strategy, letting his feelings be known on the radio. While his frustration was understandable, Russell’s message did not please Mercedes at all.
Piastri showed a level of grace and calmness that most drivers need to compete for a championship during the Japanese Grand Prix.
While he will want to avoid future errors like this, him encouraging and uplifting his McLaren teammates showed that Piastri is ready to be a leader and a champion.
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