Photo credits: McLaren F1 Team
Oscar Piastri’s teammate, Lando Norris, reached the chequered flag in Austin and in doing so found his way to the third step of the podium (which would be promoted post-race to P2). Unfortunately for Piastri, a first-lap incident which saw him make contact with Esteban Ocon would eventually lead to a retirement 10 laps into Sunday’s US Grand Prix. Piastri would tell journalists it’s ‘just one of those incidents’. Meanwhile, Ocon told reporters “It’s been a very unfortunate Sunday for us today in Austin.”
McLaren’s rookie racer took some time to find his way on track in Austin in the run up to Sunday’s race – which was a surprise after the recent form the Australian has been showing. He would have to settle for a P10 grid slot – compared to Norris who was alongside the pole-sitter. However, it was not long before the talent of Piastri was on show for all to see as he launched off the line to find himself alongside Esteban Ocon with the Frenchman having started from P8. With both drivers approaching Turn 1, a part of the COTA track well known and well-loved for being an eventful sharp left-hander, a capacity crowd had a perfect view for what came next.
On the run down to Turn 2 and with Ocon on Piastri’s right, the Alpine racer’s front left wheel hit the right hand sidepod of the McLaren. The incident brought sufficient damage to see Ocon retire from the race on lap 6 and Piastri followed four laps later having suffered a gradual loss of water pressure.
Photo Credits: Alpine F1 Team
In the Paddock afterwards Esteban Ocon said: “Doesn’t matter to comment on it, I think. The end result is that we are both out of the race which shouldn’t have happened.”
For his part, and having retired while running in P6, Piastri’s remarks showed it was a ln unexpected racing incident.
“I didn’t really think anything of it [the contact] to be honest. I felt like I definitely had the right to be there. I don’t think Esteban did anything untoward. We met and, unfortunately, it’s caused damage for both of us. Just one of those incidents,” explained McLaren’s rookie.
Piastri added further thoughts through his team’s press release post-race: “It’s a shame to have had to retire the car after only 10 laps. We had a good start and made up a few places but had a water leak that unfortunately ended our race. It’s not been the easiest weekend, but there’s been a lot of learnings.”
The 22-year-old Australian was pragmatic in his comments after his DNF and was also pleased to have made a step forward from his under par Sprint performance the previous day “but not to the level I want to be at” – according to Piastri.
“These are character building weekends that are very important in my first season, so we’ll take from it what we can and bounce back in Mexico next week,”
Esteban Ocon was also in a reflective mood as he told reporters “It could have been a good one, I think – it’s a bit of a shame.”
“There was nothing if I had to do again I would really change,”
Andrea Stella, McLaren Team Principal, also revealed his thoughts on the incident: “It’s a real shame what happened on Oscar’s side, because we could have finished with really strong points.
Meanwhile, Bruno Famin, Interim Team Principal for Alpine shared his opinion in his team’s post-race press release: “Overall it’s been a mixed Sunday for the team with Pierre in the points and Esteban unfortunately retiring from the race and therefore unable to show his potential. The car has been competitive – enough to compete for points on both days – so it is frustrating not to have both drivers in the fight for the top ten today.”
It was certainly an unfortunate moment for both drivers and Ocon summed it up: “We both touched and we paid the price.”
Fortunately, there are 4 race weekends still to come in 2023 and Austin was the start of a triple header so not long to wait before seeing how the pair respond in Mexico. One thing is clear, they both expect to bounce back and will surely hope not to be bouncing off anything else when next out on track.
