Piastri on a possible move to Red Bull? ‘Flattering to have those comments’

Oscar Piastri once again had a strong day in Belgium, as he once again finished in P2 in the sprint race after earning to start from the first row of the grid in the sprint shootout. Thanks to McLaren’s strategy call, the Australian also led the sprint race briefly at Spa.

Piastri finished in second place behind Max Verstappen, after he has already been linked to become the Dutchman’s potential teammate in the future. "It's flattering to have those comments. I'm very happy where I am. It's always nice to be talked about in those kind of ways. I think my season's been quite good. On the most part, I think there's definitely been some mistakes or moments I wish I could have had again," Piastri commented on the rumours.

"But with hindsight, it's very easy to say those kind of things. So yeah, I'm happy with where I'm at. Driving-wise, there's still a lot to improve, a lot to learn. I've got a very strong teammate to learn from, who's been a benchmark, it is a big help for me getting back up to speed. So yes, I'm happy where I am," the McLaren driver added.

Leading laps in Formula 1 and the second restart

Thanks to pitting on Lap 1, Piastri could take the lead of the Sprint Race. "You're always focusing on trying to just do the best laps you can. When you've got Max and his car behind you, it does put your nerves at ease, put it that way. I knew it was going to be difficult to hold him behind, of course. I probably wasn't expecting him to catch me literally at the top of Eau-Rouge off the safety car restart, such is our straight-line speed."

On the other hand, Piastri said that he expected Verstappen to overtake him at some point. "I was just focusing on trying to do the best job I could, knowing that it was probably going to be a when Max came past rather than an if. But, yes, I tried my best, and I think second was all we had."

The Australian also explained the second start of the day behind the safety car, the one he led out. "I've done quite a few safety car restarts before, so it's not nothing new. You just try and do the best job you can in tricky conditions with quite low tyre temps at that point. So, yes, I tried the best that I could. I think I went a bit wide at Turn 1, which didn't help things, but I don't think it really made much difference. So, no, it was nice to be able to control the safety car restart again, and hopefully there's a few more opportunities in the future."