A dissapointed Piastri still has lessons to learn in battles with Verstappen

18:18, 18 May

byNorberto Mujica

Oscar Piastri failed to convert his pole position on Saturday into a win on Sunday, a dissapointing result, the Australian notes, after a race that both he and McLaren need to learn from.

What feelings is Piastri left with after the race in Italy? Not many good ones, he states to media including GPblog after the race.

"I think obviously slight disappointment, probably. It's never a great day when you start first and finish third. So, yeah, just not a great day."

Many lessons for McLaren to learn from at Imola, according to Piastri

Summing up where the race went wrong for him and the papaya team, Piastri is clear. "I think Turn one was not ideal [where Verstappen overtook him for the lead]. I think in the end our stop timing wasn't... Yeah, I think the race just panned out differently to how we expected in that first stint".

The race's neutralisations, the McLaren driver believes didn't go in his favour, but highlights his P3 finish as an overall good result for the championship which he continues to lead.

"Then the timing of the VSC and the safety car, you know, was kind of... The race was very tough from very early on. So, I think, honestly, given people had fresher tyres at the end, hanging on to a podium is not a bad result. And you're going to have tough days in the Championship. And this is clearly one of them."

Piastri then makes it a top priority for McLaren to learn from the lessons available to them from the tough race in Italy. "As long as we learn the lessons, then that's all I can ask."

There's a valuable lesson in it for Piastri to learn from as well

Although the Australian driver believes there's also a big lesson for him. Did Verstappen surprise him with the late lunge around the outside into Turn 2? Yeah. I mean, I thought I had it pretty under control and it was a good move from Max."

Would he have done anything differently, Piastri responds with unabashed honesty: "Yes, I definitely would have done something different. I would have braked about 10 meters later probably. Yeah, that's all. Live and learn."