Oscar Piastri left fuming after pit stop strategy costs him Italian Grand Prix victory

Australian Formula 1 star Oscar Piastri has been left fuming after a shot at a second race victory was snatched out of his hands.

James McKern

@jLmcKern

3 min read

September 2, 2024 - 8:06AM

F1

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Oscar Piastri has been left to rue once again what could have been as the Australian driver missed out on a potential second race win.

After starting the Italian Grand Prix from second on the grid, Piastri overtook his teammate Lando Norris with a daring move on the opening lap.

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From there the 23-year-old sat clear of the chasing pack for the majority of the race and looked comfortably on track for a straightforward victory.

That was until a second pit stop was called for on lap 39 of the 53 lap race around the famous Monza circuit.

The stop dropped Piastri behind Ferrari duo Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc who went with a one-stop strategy.

The strategy call proved the decisive factor as Piastri failed to haul in Leclerc as he held on for his second win of the season with the Aussie having to settle for second place.

After the race the young McLaren star cut a dejected figure after having victory well within his grasp on Monday (AEST).

Piastri wasn’t happy after the race. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“I’m not going to lie, it hurts a lot. We did a lot of things right today. There was a lot of question marks on the strategy going into the race,” he said.

“From the position we were in with the tyres looking like they did, doing a one-stop seemed like a very risky call, but in the end it was right. Very, very happy with the pace, with the race that I managed to achieve, just when you finish second it hurts.”

Piastri was asked if the team should have stuck with a one-stop strategy, despite the hard tyres fading heavily before he pitted.

“In hindsight yes, but everyone’s a legend on Monday after the race or the chequered flag. Today, unfortunately we got it a bit wrong, myself being a big part of that,” he said.

“Charles (Leclerc) could try something a bit different as he was going to finish third either way and picked the right gamble today. The mediums were getting destroyed and even the hards on the Red Bull at the start looked pretty dead. My front left was pretty heavily grained, just we didn’t expect it to clear back up again, which it did.

“I thought (catching Leclerc) would be tough but I thought it would be possible. With the pace I had at the start, I think I was catching him at two seconds a lap.

“Had a few people that weren’t very helpful – Stroll was driving like he was in his first go-kart race, so that cost a couple of seconds. Just a bit painful, but I think we pretty much needed everything to go right on that last set of hards and it just ultimately wasn’t quite enough.”

Piastri and McLaren cost themselves dearly. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

In the end the McLaren duo had to settle for second and third on the grid, a result that keeps them behind Red Bull by eight points in the constructors standings.

With eight rounds remaining in the 2024 season, it looks likely the McLaren outfit will reign supreme however they could have snatched the lead if not for the two-stop strategy call.

Norris closed the gap further in the drivers standings, trailing Max Verstappen by 62 points with the Red Bull star believing the title race may well be over.

Verstappen after the race said that he doesn’t believe he can retain his F1 crown following his latest flop as he slammed his Red Bull car as “undriveable” and a “monster”.

His run of races without a win was extended to six as he crossed the line in sixth place in Italy.

Asked by reporters whether he was worried about losing what had looked like a certain fourth straight world crown when he won the Spanish GP in June, Verstappen said: “At the moment both championships (drivers’ and constructors’) are not realistic”.

“The car is undriveable. It’s a massive balance problem that we have. And that of course is not only over one lap but also in the race.”