Formula 1 news 2024: Oscar Piastri vows no repeat of fifth place finish at US Grand Prix

Even though Oscar Piastri managed a fifth placed finish at the US Grand Prix, the young gun wasn’t impressed with his ‘handful’ of a car, saying he doesn’t want a repeat in the final five races of the F1 season.

AUSTIN, TEXAS - OCTOBER 20: Oscar Piastri of Australia driving the (81) McLaren MCL38 Mercedes on track during the F1 Grand Prix of United States at Circuit of The Americas on October 20, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)

Oscar Piastri says he hopes his fifth place finish at Monday morning’s US Grand Prix, won brilliantly by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, will remain his worst result in the second half of the Formula One season.

Far from disgraced, the Aussie ace managed to steer clear of the dramas that were unfolding up the road ahead of him to gain 10 valuable points to help McLaren extend its lead in the constructors championship.

But the 23-year-old wasn’t impressed by his car’s performance, saying he doesn’t want a repeat in the remaining five races in 2024.

“The car has been very tricky all weekend. Over one lap it’s had potential to be quick but trying to unlock it has been incredibly tough,” Piastri said.

“And then over the race you can’t get away with the same things over one lap and the true pace really shows itself.

“I hope this is our weakest of the next six. We had some good races at the tracks coming up last year.”

Oscar Piastri finished fifth at the US Grand Prix. Picture: Getty Images/ AFP

Still in just his second season, Piastri is a hard marker.

He’s already way ahead of the curve after winning two races this season and finishing on the podium seven times, but his fifth place finish was his worst since he placed seventh at Spain in round 10.

But it wasn’t just him who struggled on the hilly circuit in Austin, Texas.

His team mate Lando Norris finished fourth despite starting pole position and crossing the line third before dropping back one place after incurring a 5-second penalty for exceeding track limits.

“It was a bit of a struggle. The car’s been pretty tricky to drive this whole weekend,” Piastri said.

“Lando, honestly, did a very good job qualifying on pole because the car was a handful, just not as pleasant as some of the more recent weekends we’ve had.

Max Verstappen and Lando Norris had a tense battle. Picture: Getty Images

“We know that our car is still not the best in some areas and potentially here it exposed it a bit more.”

Despite opening up a 40-point lead over Red Bull in the constructors championships, McLaren’s slim hopes of winning the drivers’ title suffered a major setback when Norris fell 57 points behind Max Verstappen.

McLaren were unhappy that Norris copped a penalty after he overtook Verstappen near the end of the race, claiming the Dutchman forced their driver to run off the circuit at least twice during the race.

“My view is that the way the stewards interfered with a beautiful piece of motorsport was inappropriate because both cars went off track so both cars gained an advantage,” McLaren team principal Andrea Stella fumed.

Norris was also unhappy at the ruling though a little more diplomatic, saying: “That’s life. Didn’t do a good enough job but I gave it a good shot. I’m doing my best, my best isn’t good enough sometimes.”

Leclerc was understandably thrilled at registering his third win of the season, leading Ferrari to its first one-two since the Australian Grand Prix as his team mate Carlos Sainz followed him to the chequered flag.

“Very happy and now we are still targeting the (constructors) title,” he said.

“It’s still a long way to go but it’s a good start to this triple header.”

Originally published as Formula 1 news 2024: Oscar Piastri vows no repeat of fifth place finish at US Grand Prix