McLaren’s decision to deny Oscar Piastri shot at Japanese GP win was ‘fair’, says driver

Oscar Piastri has said he has no complaints about McLaren rejecting his request to shoot for glory at the Japanese Grand Prix.

The Australian finished third behind teammate Lando Norris and victor Max Verstappen on Sunday, but he believed he had possessed the pace to get past the Red Bull champion and possibly make it back-to-back F1 wins following his victory in China.

It ended up being a frustrating 24th birthday for Piastri, who was left to reflect on what might have been if his team bosses had heeded his request with nine laps left to be freed up for a crack at the Dutchman’s lead, as he was clearly quicker than Norris, who had been making no impression.

“I think I have the pace to get Max,” Piastri said over the radio with nine laps left, but the idea of the McLaren drivers swapping places was never entertained as world champ Verstappen (61pts) went on to win, moving within one point of Norris’s lead in the drivers’ championship, with Piastri third on 49.

Piastri has proved himself a real team player at McLaren and wasn’t about to make waves afterwards when asked about whether there had been much debate in the team about whether the drivers should swap places.

“There wasn’t much,” he said. “I felt if I had track position I could go and get Max but that’s what happens when you qualify behind, unfortunately. I at least asked the question. I think that was a fair response.”

Ultimately, McLaren really paid the price for one of Verstappen’s most masterful qualifying performances, as his fantastic track-record lap to pinch pole against all the odds had the British leaders in the constructors’ race on the back foot from the start on Sunday.

McLaren principal Andrea Stella insisted afterwards that team interests were still at the forefront of their thoughts, and added he didn’t think it was obvious that Piastri was quicker than Norris, who had been managing his tyres.

“We are here first of all to beat the other teams and put McLaren in a very strong position,” Stella said. “When McLaren is in a strong position, then that’s the best position for the two drivers to pursue their aspirations. This is very clear to the team, very clear to the drivers.”

Piastri, though, will at least be encouraged by his race pace as he looks forward to this week’s Bahrain Grand Prix, followed a week later by the Saudi Arabian GP, and he conceded he had only himself to blame because he didn’t produce his best in qualifying.

“It’s obviously not the result I wanted, but I think in terms of the pace and the way I achieved the result, that’s what I wanted,” Piastri said. “I didn’t get the most out of the car in qualifying, so that unfortunately kind of dictated a lot of what I could do today, and that’s led to the result I’ve got.

“There’s still a lot of positives to take out of this weekend. I think the pace was mega. Next time, I just have to make sure I’m in a better position to use it.”