F1: Australian Oscar Piastri has claimed his first podium of the year at a drama filled Monaco Grand prix.
Aussie claims podium at dramatic Monaco | 01:16Eight races into his follow-up Formula 1 campaign, Oscar Piastri finds himself 42 points and three places behind Lando Norris in the drivers championship .
But bad luck can last only so long. If you dive beyond the headline results of the last three rounds, it clear Piastri is ready to capitalise.Norris claimed his long-awaited maiden victory in Miami, breaking an almost three-year drought for McLaren and proving Woking was still on the right track to bridge the gap to the leaders.
But then the safety car came out just after his pit stop, catapulting Norris into a lead he would never relinquish. Imola is a fearsome racing circuit that requires maximum commitment from drivers looking to string together a competitive lap. This was Piastri’s first visit to the historic Italian track in any racing category.
Condemned to fifth on the grid at a track around which overtaking is extremely difficult, the Aussie made the best of a bad situation, gaining one place on Sainz to finish fourth and just off the podium. In 2023, when the McLaren car was still in its primordial form, he was knocked out in Q2 in 11th. He started and finished one place behind Norris, however, with the Briton 10th on the grid.He built methodically and relentlessly through practice to establish himself as a weekend protagonist, and he was pipped by Charles Leclerc to pole by just 0.154 seconds.
But his first podium of the year was won after a luckless couple of races, and it was a timely reminder that the second-year driver belongs among the leaders this season. There have been signs that his race pace at circuits and in conditions that stress the Pirelli tyres still needs work, though there’s also no doubt he’s made excellent progress on that front during the off-season and is a consistent match for Norris on Sunday.
“In terms of the traits of the upgraded car compared to last year, what we see and what we expected is just more downforce in all conditions,” Stella said. “The car compared to what we expected seems to be well behaved also in low speed, possibly slightly more than we anticipated based on our development tools, which is good news.
Follow-Up Season North America Crunch Moments History Books Breakout Debut Campaign Monaco Able Seal Primordial Form Strategy-Killing First-Lap Red Closest Challenger Runner-Up Finish Young Gun Single Lap Weekend Protagonist Safety Car End Results Grand Prix Kevin Magnussen Europe Race Pace First-Lap Red Flag Florida Western Europe Qualifying Session Northern America Maximum Commitment Racing Category Southern Europe Italy Verstappen Pit Stop Grands Prix Massive Tyre Advantage Headline Results United States Of America Upgrade Package Development Tools Maiden Victory Long-Awaited Maiden Victory Final Two-Thirds Required Tyre Change Relative Inexperience Elite Level Andrea Stella America Imola Home Hero Charles Leclerc Carlos Sainz Lap Time Update Package Fearsome Racing Circuit Drivers Championship Miami Famous Race Pit Wall Final Stint
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