F1 News
Piastri admits worry about outside interference costing him first F1 win
Oscar Piastri admits he was left feeling concerned about one key aspect in the team orders situation with Lando Norris in the closing stages of the Hungarian Grand Prix. The Australian never doubted Norris but was worried about an outside McLaren interference costing him victory.
Piastri took the lead of the Hungarian Grand Prix at the first corner and looked in control. However, McLaren opted to pit Norris first, giving the British driver the undercut. This put McLaren in an awkward situation where they wanted to swap Norris and Piastri back around.
It took Norris a long time to act upon the radio messages, but he allowed his teammate through eventually. Piastri claims he never doubted McLaren and Norris' intentions. "I had full trust in everyone in the team, including Lando, that we would make that happen," Piastri said.
Did Piastri have concerns in Hungary?
Piastri had never won a Formula 1 Grand Prix before. Whilst he wasn't concerned about Norris and McLaren, he has admitted to being worried about a problem outside of their control.
"The only thing I was concerned about a bit was if there was a safety car. Then it would have taken the situation out of our hands. So that was really the only thing I was a bit concerned about. But we'd spoken about it at the timing of the stop that we would sort it back out," Piastri added.
Piastri became the 115th different driver to win a Formula 1 race, joining four other drivers from Australia on that list. So how does it feel to finally achieve the goal? "I don't think it's fully sunk in yet, and I'm not really the kind of person to get overly emotional. I don't think you're ever really going to see that from me. It's an incredible feeling. Like I said, it's something I've dreamed of since I was a kid. We've had a couple of opportunities through the last few races that we've come very close to. Now to make it happen is an incredible feeling," he concluded.