McLaren ordered its drivers to swap positions on lap 28, and the Australian gave himself a slap on the wrist for a clumsy turn.
Oscar Piastri was pragmatic after being asked by McLaren to move aside for teammate Lando Norris in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, the Australian driver calling the team order “completely fair” after finishing fourth in his second race at home at Albert Park.
“For me, it was completely fair,” Piastri said after Norris took McLaren’s first podium in Melbourne since 2014.“He qualified in front of me yesterday and went a bit longer on the first stop, and he was catching me and was quicker at that point of the race. At that point, I was keeping with Leclerc, but Lando was catching both of us. I was honestly hoping he’d pass me and go and get Charles. Of course at home I would have loved to have been able to stay in third, but it was completely fair.
Piastri, after finishing fourth for the second race in succession, leaves Melbourne in fifth place in the championship standings, one point and one position ahead of Norris, who took his 14th career podium without a victory; now an F1 record.“For me, it’s been a strong weekend. A couple of mistakes when it mattered which was a bit frustrating, but today has been a solid result,” Piastri said.
Compatriot Daniel Ricciardo’s difficult start to 2024 continued on Sunday, the 34-year-old finishing 12th for RB to remain pointless from the opening three grands prix of the season. “I let that go last night. I didn’t end up breaking anything. I felt like some objects were going to get smashed after qualifying, but maybe there’s a bit of calm with age.“It’s nice there were moments in the race where I did have pace and I was able to show, OK, I can still get some good stints in there.”
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