Piastri ‘a little bit surprised’ by McLaren team order

Qatar Grand Prix runner-up Oscar Piastri says he was “a little bit surprised” by McLaren’s decision to freeze his and Lando Norris’ positions in the closing stages of the race.

After scoring his maiden win in F1 in Saturday’s sprint event at Lusail, Piastri upheld his strong form on Sunday by claiming second place behind race winner Max Verstappen and just ahead of Norris.

It was the McLaren rookie’s second podium in succession, a result that capped a difficult but flawless performance by Piastri who never put a foot wrong despite the race’s grueling conditions.

“Yeah, it’s been pretty exceptional, to be honest,” commented the 22-year-old.

“I think Friday was difficult. You know, obviously a bit disappointed after qualifying on Friday, but yesterday went as close to perfect as it could have.

“And today, I think second was probably the most we could have done. So, yeah, very, very happy. Exciting weekend, a lot of progress made.

“And yeah, I think you know, just very proud of that. As a team and also for myself personally, that we’ve managed to get the most out of what our car’s been capable of.”

• Read also: Piastri 'put in qualifying laps' throughout Qatar GP'

From sixth on the grid, Piastri enjoyed a strong launch, the Aussie overtaking Fernando Alonso and Charles Leclerc and then benefitting from the dramatic run-in between Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

Piastri clocked in second at the end of the opening lap and, save for the usual regressions during the pit stop rotations, maintained the position for 57 brutal laps to the checkered flag.

“Hit the brakes at the right time, and watched everyone else go off!,” he recounted, describing the commotion at the first corner. “Yeah, honestly, it was as simple as that.

“I don’t really know what happened. Obviously, saw some cars spinning and whatever else but, yeah, the heavens kind of just parted way for me and through to second I went.”

Meanwhile, Norris spent the early part of the race sandwiched between the two Alpines of Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly.

Eventually however, he managed to battle his was among the top four and then dispatched Alonso for third.

Norris began to reel in his teammate when the McLaren pitwall opted to play it safe and freeze the positions, a call that surprised Piastri who would have gladly fought his teammate had the two drivers been given a free rein by their team.

“I was a little bit surprised to be honest. I would have accepted it either way,” he said.

“But obviously there was a lot of concerns about tyres and track limits and stuff. So yeah, I think getting second and third for the team was the most important thing.”

In Japan a fortnight earlier, Piastri had been asked to yield to Norris in the interest of the team. He had subsequently struggled to remain in the wake of the sister McLaren.

In Qatar, he believes his ability to outpace Norris was due to circumstances rather than to a sudden improvement of his race management capabilities.

“I think still some improvements to make,” he conceded. “I think this race was very different to Japan, obviously with three stops, I think we were basically pushing flat out for the whole race.

“So, it’s a very different kind of race. But, I think, still some work to go.

“It was just a different kind of tyre deg. I think it was much more front limited this weekend. I think the front left and trying to protect that was by far the biggest thing.

“So yeah, just a different learning experience, I guess. But still good to have it in the bank.”

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