A “very happy” Oscar Piastri admitted he thought he was “in a lot of trouble” after falling behind George Russell early in the Qatar Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday night. Follow the Grand Prix live from 4am AEDT!
Piastri ended up taking out his maiden Formula One victory in a dramatic event which also saw Max Verstappen secure his third consecutive world title.
The Australian later admitted it was a “very stressful race” in the wake of Russell, who started on soft tyres, passing him for the lead into the Turn 6 hairpin.
Piastri, on the other hand, began on medium tyres and had the lead before a Safety Car was required after Liam Lawson spun into the gravel at Turn 2.
Once the race got back underway an aggressive Russell was able to take the lead, with Piastri telling reporters he was concerned he had lost his shot at victory.
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Piastri wins & Verstappen clinches title | 01:14
“I think I probably got a bit of a better launch than Lando and Max and then there’s obviously the Safety Car which spaced everyone out a bit more for me,” Piastri said.
“Once George got past I thought I was in a lot of trouble because I tried to stay on the outside of him and it’s like he had the grip to double. So yeah, that was difficult.
“And I think staying in front of the Ferrari at Turn 1 was pretty important for me. I think if I had gone behind then I would have been in a bit of trouble. So that was a pretty important moment in the race.”
Piastri though later passed Russell to regain the lead on Lap 11, with Verstappen finishing second while McLaren teammate Lando Norris came home third.
Still, Piastri hardly felt assured of his maiden F1 victory with a driver of Verstappen’s calibre behind him.
Piastri lands first career podium finish | 03:36
“Whenever you’ve got Max behind you, it’s not the most confidence-inspiring feeling I’ll be honest,” Piastri said.
“I think the pace was actually probably better than I expected. But yeah, pushing flat out when there’s two or three laps to go at that point, just trying to hang on as best as I could and the pace was solid.
“I was obviously happy to win the sprint. I have to say it’s a bit of a weird feeling because it’s not a race win, it does feel a little bit strange, but no, very, very happy.
“I think it’s just been a really good day. And I felt like as a race thing more than the result, I was really happy with how I managed things and obviously a difficult race with tyres as well.
“So yeah, I think good learning for tomorrow and happy that I executed well. And the fact that it gives me a number one trophy at the end is a bonus.”
Piastri will start Monday morning’s race in P6 after having some lap times from qualifying deleted due to track limits as he looks to build on his maiden podium finish at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Verstappen, meanwhile, is in pole position with Russell alongside him in the front row while Mercedes teammate Lewis Hamilton is joined by Fernando Alonso in the second row.
Starting grid for the Qatar Grand Prix after qualifying:
Front row Max Verstappen (NED/Red Bull) George Russell (GBR/Mercedes)
2nd row Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) Fernando Alonso (ESP/Aston Martin)
3rd row Charles Leclerc (MON/Ferrari) Oscar Piastri (AUS/McLaren)
4th row Pierre Gasly (FRA/Alpine) Esteban Ocon (FRA/Alpine)
5th row Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Alfa Romeo) Lando Norris (GBR/McLaren)
6th row Yuki Tsunoda (JPN/AlphaTauri) Carlos Sainz Jr (ESP/Ferrari)
7th row Sergio Perez (MEX/Red Bull) Alexander Albon (THA/Williams)
8th row Nico Hulkenberg (GER/Haas) Logan Sargeant (USA/Williams)
9th row Lance Stroll (CAN/Aston Martin) Liam Lawson (NZL/AlphaTauri)
10th row Kevin Magnussen (DEN/Haas) Zhou Guanyu (CHN/Alfa Romeo)
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