Oscar Piastri Narrowly Misses Podium at Canadian Grand Prix
Oscar Piastri, the McLaren driver, narrowly missed out on a podium finish at the Canadian Grand Prix, ultimately settling for fifth place on the Formula 1 calendar. In a thrilling Montreal race, Piastri found himself in a fierce battle with Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton for the final podium spot. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to hold them off as they displayed their aggressive pursuit of a top-three finish.
“Pretty close until I got behind the Mercedes, and then I realized that they were on a mission. It would have been, I think, incredibly tough to keep them behind all the way to the end – especially being sort of the first car in the firing line for them.”
The Formula 1 standings show that Mercedes’ impressive performance in Canada can be attributed to their new front wing, which was first introduced at the Monaco Grand Prix. However, it wasn’t until the Montreal race that the W15 car’s full potential was unleashed, as the team showcased remarkable pace during practice and qualifying.
Piastri admitted that while he wasn’t surprised by Mercedes’ speed, he was impressed by the extent of their pace:
“In FP3, I think with Lewis’s [session-topping] lap, we were scratching our heads. I think we worked out why after the session, but during the session, we were never going to get close to that. Even in Q2, when George did an 11.7 and I did a 12.1 or 12.2, I wasn’t going to find half a second. So, I think they’ve been very quick this weekend.”
During the race, Piastri attempted to hold off the Mercedes duo, including a minor incident with Russell at the final chicane on lap 63. When questioned about the incident, Piastri replied:
“I need to see it a bit more. I think it’s an incredibly tough corner to go two wide in. And, yeah, you need to be very brave to go around the outside. In the end, he got past anyway. So, I don’t think it really changed the result, but hopefully, it was entertaining.”
As Formula 1 today moves on to the next race, Piastri and his McLaren team will be looking to learn from their Canadian experience and close the gap with their Mercedes rivals in the Formula 1 standings.
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