Piastri on McLaren team orders at Qatar: 'I was a little bit surprised'

Oscar Piastri took a fantastic P2 at the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, backing up his Sprint race victory on Saturday and capping off a superb weekend.

Speaking in the press conference after the race, the Australian was very happy with his second place and his teammate Lando Norris' third place, but some team orders from the McLaren pit wall did confuse the 22-year-old.

"I was a little bit surprised, to be honest," Piastri said. "I would have accepted it either way, but obviously there were a lot of concerns about tyres and track limits and stuff. So, I think getting second and third for the team was the most important thing."

'Definitely the hardest race I've done'

During the press conference, the McLaren driver also spoke about the tough conditions at the Losail Circuit caused by the extreme heat.
"It was just extremely hot," the Australian expressed. "Even from the beginning, even before I put my helmet on, before the start of the race, I was sweating, and it definitely didn't get any better once I was driving.

"So it was just very hot, and I think it was a combination of a lot of things, the humidity as well, having three stops meant we were pushing flat out and just the nature of the track. There's a lot of high-speed corners that just sort of naturally take its toll, but it was definitely the hardest race I've done."