Oscar Piastri says it wasn’t possible to attempt a pass on Charles Leclerc in the Monaco Grand Prix because his car was too wide.
The McLaren driver spent all 78 laps of the race behind Leclerc, and was close behind the Ferrari driver for much of that time. However he said there simply wasn’t room to squeeze alongside him at any point.
“I was a tricky race,” he said. “The pace at the beginning was incredibly slow, and I had one little half-look before the tunnel, but didn’t have a small enough car to fit into a gap.”
From second on the grid, Piastri tangled with Leclerc’s team mate Carlos Sainz Jnr at the start and suffered floor damage. The race was red-flagged, which allowed McLaren to switch him from the medium tyre compound to hards, meaning he did not need to make a pit stop.
That consigned him and those around him to a processional race. However he said he was pleased to score his first podium finish of the season.
“It’s been a great weekend around and nice to finally put a result on the board,” he said. “I feel like we’ve been very strong for the last few weekends, but didn’t really have the results to show for it. So it’s nice to have a podium, and what better place?”
Yesterday Piastri admitted he made a few mistakes in qualifying which cost him a shot a pole position. But he said it would have been hard to beat Leclerc.
“Charles has been mega all weekend and they’ve been quick from the very first lap and I think it would have taken something pretty special in quali to out-do him,” said Piastri. “The opportunity was almost there, but it would have taken probably the best lap of my life.
“So I’m happy with P2, a good result for the team again and very, very happy.”
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2024 Monaco Grand Prix
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