Oscar Piastri said it was “a shame” his Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was ruined by damage he incurred on the first lap of the race.
The McLaren driver reached Q3 in only his second start for the team, but was forced to pit at the end of lap one with front wing damage after contact at the first corner.
“I think it was really just one of those lap one, turn one incidents,” said Piastri. “The contact felt really small so I was honestly quite surprised to have damage.”
He recovered to finish 15th after running the remaining 49 laps of the race without a second pit stop.
“The rest of the race I think was reasonable,” he said. “Some good experience with learning how to use the battery at the end with the overtakes and stuff like that. Nice to see the end as well, but it’s a shame.
Despite starting inside the top 10, Piastri said he’s “not 100% sure” he would have been able to score points without his first-lap damage.
“I’m not sure how great our pace was anyways,” said the McLaren driver. “I think doing 49 laps on the hards is never going to be great for your race pace but we’ll have to sit down and have a look at how it was.”
Piastri’s lap one damage proved a double blow for McLaren as Lando Norris, hit the debris from the team’s other car on lap two and also had to pit for a new front wing.
Team principal Andrea Stella said the team had “high hopes of scoring points” before the race began. “We’re racers, we take these things on the chin, and we will be even more determined to succeed when we get to Australia.”
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2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
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