Oscar Piastri did not hide his frustration after the Formula 1 Hungarian GP. The McLaren driver called the incident with Carlos Sainz ‘one of the most idiotic things I’ve ever seen on a race track’.
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Piastri led the first part of the race and seemed in a position to contend for victory. However, after his pit stop, he encountered Sainz’s Williams while trying to lap him, and the two ended up making contact, compromising the McLaren driver’s race.
The incident cost Piastri important seconds, allowing his teammate, Lando Norris, to make his pit stop and take the lead of the race. Shortly after, the Australian’s situation worsened even further when a seemingly gearbox-related problem forced him to retire from the race.
During the race, Piastri showed irritation over the radio, a feeling that remained after the checkered flag: “For me, there is no excuse whatsoever. That must be one of the most idiotic things I’ve ever seen on a race track,” he stated in an interview with Viaplay.
The McLaren driver made it clear that he does not consider any justifications for what happened: “I really don’t care what excuse is presented,” he said.
Despite the problems faced, Piastri believes he had the conditions to fight for victory in Budapest. Norris ended up securing McLaren’s first triumph of the season, but the Australian left convinced that he had wasted a great opportunity.
“It was definitely a missed opportunity. The pace on the hard tires wasn’t great, but I felt that as long as I maintained track position, I had a good chance of making it to the end. It wouldn’t be easy, but it was possible,” he added.
Finally, Piastri summarized the sequence of events that ended his Sunday on a bitter note: “From that moment on, pretty much everything that could go wrong, even things you never imagine, went wrong,” concluded the Australian driver.
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