Qatar GP: McLaren 'shell-shocked’ as gamble goes ‘horribly’ wrong, awkward Piastri hug says it all
Oscar Piastri’s reaction to McLaren’s boss said it all after the team threw away a certain victory in a total shambles at the Qatar Grand Prix.
The Formula One title fight is heading to the season finale in Abu Dhabi after Max Verstappen made the most of a baffling strategy blunder by McLaren to win the Qatar Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri started Monday morning’s race in Qatar on pole position and was out in the lead when a Nico Hulkenberg crash triggered a Safety Car on lap 7.
With F1 mandating two pit stops for the race, Max Verstappen and Red Bull made the smart call by coming into the pits for a “free” pit stop under the Safety Car, but McLaren chose to keep Piastri and Lando Norris out on track while the rest of the grid pitted.
It proved to be a costly call that left Piastri scrambling to chase down a massive deficit after McLaren effectively gave Verstappen a huge advantage knowing they still need to pit twice in the 57-lap race.
With McLaren hoping they had enough pace to make up the gap, Piastri did his best to chase down Verstappen but finished second, 10 seconds behind the Dutchman, while Norris finished fourth.
The Australian was left fuming after being the fastest driver all weekend only for a strategy call to cost him the victory as crucial points went begging.
The result means Verstappen is now just 12 points behind Norris, who still leads the championship heading to Abu Dhabi with a 16-point buffer on Piastri.
Verstappen has now overtaken Piastri in the standings but the Australian’s title hopes still have a pulse — they would have been well and truly alive had McLaren not cost him the win and seven more points in Qatar.
Catch up on all the action from the Qatar GP below.
Originally published as Qatar GP: McLaren 'shell-shocked’ as gamble goes ‘horribly’ wrong, awkward Piastri hug says it all
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