Photo Credits: McLaren Racing
Due to no support races and a cold fresh track, it was widely thought that the much-anticipated Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix was going to come down to tyre wear due to the fact that all the talk pre-race had been about graining. However, having managed his hard compound so well, Oscar Piastri expressed disappointment at having to switch from hard to medium tyres (with six laps remaining) to ensure he complied with F1 rules which require drivers to use two different compounds during the race. Such a requirement saw the Australian drop from P4 to P10 pondering what might have been.
McLaren has been very much the team in form of late, so it was a surprise for many to see the driver pairing of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri start Saturday evening’s spectacle from P15 and P18 respectively (after Stroll’s penalty). Despite starting so far back, Piastri’s pace impressed as did his overtaking skills and tyre management. By the conclusion of the race, Piastri came home in P10 and with a fastest lap bonus point too which reinforced the pace he had been demonstrating. As such, it was a case of what could have been – as shown in his post-race remarks.
“P10 and fastest lap, it felt like we kinda deserved a bit more from that race,”
The belief that Piastri had that more was possible, came as a result of him having to make a mandatory stop before the end of the race to ensure he ran two different tyre compounds during the Grand Prix. Saturday’s extravaganza also saw Safety Cars take a leading role under the lights. The first of which helped Piastri gain 10 places in 10 laps whereas the second resulted in him falling through the pack after pitting due to the congested field.
“The timing of the Safety Car was pretty much perfect for the guys that stayed out on mediums at the start,” Piastri admitted. “Look at Ocon, and it worked perfectly for him.”
Due to the fact the Frenchman came home P4 after starting P16, it was clear evidence to support Piastri’s opinion.
“I was really wishing the rule of using two compounds didn’t exist, because I would have just gone to the end on the hard,” Piastri claimed. “I think we had the pace to hand on to people, so that was a shame. The pace of the car was a really good surprise,” explained Piastri.
Having had such impressive race trim, the team’s performance in qualifying was all the more mystifying and that was not lost on Piastri as he said “[Qualifying] obviously wasn’t particularly representative of our pace, but today was probably better than we expected. So, we need to understand what the difference was.”
There are many positives for Piastri to leave Las Vegas with and his on track overtakes will surely have won him a new legion of fans. Although, one such moment surely resulted in a race turning point for the Australian when he made contact with seven-time F1 Drivers’ World Champion Lewis Hamilton.
In the early stages with Piastri on a charge, he made contact with Hamilton on Lap 16 and came away from the incident with a puncture which hindered his race strategy considerably as this meant that Piastri had to stick with the hard compound when he pitted due to how much of the race was remaining. It also sealed his fate that he would have to return to the pits before the chequered flag and lose even more time doing so. Although his team did all they could to minimise the pain with a 1.9 second stop
“It was kind of just an awkward one,” Piastri said when reflecting on the contact with Hamilton.
“Neither of us had really committed to the corner that much and we both committed at the last minute. Then I was trying to back out of it, but we just ended up meeting in the middle. So, I had a puncture from that.”
However, a pragmatic response from Piastri also showed that he was not fully convinced that a one stop race would have paid off.
“I don’t think it really hurt our race in all honesty,” Piastri continued. “Yeah, it would have been interesting to see if a one-stop could have worked. It’s always hard to know. We would have been a sitting duck, like [Pierre] Gasly pretty much. A lot of things for a lot of people went wrong in that race, and I think I was in the same boat,” concluded Piastri.
Andrea Stella, McLaren Team Principal, reflected on Piastri’s race and admitted: “Two points isn’t many compared to those we have scored in recent weeks but they’re important in our battle for fourth in Constructors’ Championship.”
However, with races continuing to come thick and fast and the final race of the season being next weekend, Stella is confident that it will not be long before they are back on form.
“It’s been a tricky weekend in Vegas. We now regroup, rest when we can, and prepare to go again in the season finale. We’re looking forward to a much smoother weekend in Abu Dhabi on a circuit that should be more favourable to our car,”
The Las Vegas Grand Prix is in the history books and as much as the spectacle may have divided opinion there is no doubting the quality of the racing that was on show.
McLaren know that they cannot have a repeat of this in Abu Dhabi seeing how Aston Martin are just 11 points behind them in the Constructors’ Championship. The Woking-based manufacturer will surely hope that what happened in Vegas stays in Vegas. Meanwhile, Aston Martin may be looking to roll the dice for one last gamble.
Either way, it ensures that next weekend’s twilight finale is set to be an unmissable event.
