First time in Interlagos
The Saturday of Oscar Piastri at Interlagos it was not to be remembered. While his teammate Lando Norris dragged the McLaren to pole position in the Sprint Shootout and then to second place in the 100km race, behind only Max Verstappen, the young Australian – in his first career experience on the Paulista track – had to be satisfied with tenth place finishboth in qualifying and in the race.
Piastri, who curiously will start in tenth position again today, in the ‘real’ Grand Prix, put on a show by being involved in several battles on the track, including a ‘derby’ with his compatriot Daniel Ricciardo. In the end, however, his final placing did not change. The fault, too, of one difficult tire management which saw it suffer severe decay, to which the very high temperature of the Brazilian asphalt probably contributed.
Excessive tire degradation
“I took tenth place in the endand – commented Piastri after the race – it was a good ride, but I had to fight against tire degradation. Other than that, it was a fun race on a nice circuit. We managed to learn something important for tomorrow (today, ed.), which will certainly help us in the Grand Prix. We will work to see what we can do in the race and hope to get important points“.
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