After Losing Out to Max Verstappen, Oscar Piastri Agonizingly Rules McLaren Out of Top Flight Competition

In the words of Oscar Piastri, he got his “first top-three in a sort-of race” at the Belgian GP Sprint on Saturday. And it was an eventful 11 laps, to say the least. Let’s be honest: A race in Spa cannot be complete without a little rain. And a whole lot of it right before the Sprint made it that much more exciting. After a blistering performance in the Shootout, Oscar Piastri qualified just 0.011s behind Max Verstappen on pole. In the changing weather conditions with the different strategies, it was all to play for. And Oscar Piastri got his first whiff of what it’s like to lead a race in Formula 1. 

In light of a rolling start behind the Safety Car on wet tires when conditions were optimal for the intermediates, Piastri followed the SC into the pits right at the start to change his tires. But Verstappen came into the pits only on the second lap, handing the lead to Piastri—who undercut him. With only nine laps left and more than a second gap between him and Max, Oscar tried to hold him off. But the RB19 “rocketship” proved too fast for his MCL60, and Oscar had to settle for second at the end of the Sprint.

Despite losing out, Piastri was thrilled with his second place. But considering he’s up against Verstappen again on Sunday, he ruled out all hopes of challenging Max with his radio message after the Sprint. As soon as he crossed the line, his race engineer Tom Stallard said, “Great job, Oscar. Brilliant job, buddy. P2. Fantastic. Let’s see what we can get tomorrow as well. I’m excited!” Piastri replied, “Awesome job, everybody.” But he couldn’t emulate the same excitement Stallard did, solely because of how fast he knows the RB19 is.

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He added, “Best of the non-rocket ships, so…” Even though the Aussie was happy with McLaren’s pace during the Sprint, he knows how difficult it will be to compete against the Red Bulls on Sunday. And the most he can hope for would be the best of the rest behind Red Bull. And this wasn’t the first time he ruled himself out of a fight against Max Verstappen this weekend.

Oscar Piastri shied away from Max Verstappen’s Sunday challenge

After qualifying on Friday, Max Verstappen—no surprise there—got pole position, and Oscar Piastri qualified sixth—1.2s behind Verstappen. But because of a five-place grid penalty that Verstappen will serve on Sunday due to an extra gearbox change, he’ll start alongside Piastri on the third row. 

Starting from fifth ahead of Verstappen, Piastri was asked what he thought his chances and expectations for the Sunday race would be. He jokingly replied, “It’s in a decent spot for Sunday. Obviously, Max [Verstappen] has got a penalty, so we’re fifth on the grid, sixth at Turn 1.” Although he said this on Friday before going against Max on Saturday, his statement has gained a little legitimacy after his “battle” with Verstappen during the Sprint. But he would hope to keep Max behind longer this time out.

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Do you think Oscar Piastri has a chance against Verstappen’s RB19?