Oscar Piastri has not only driven his first race of the season, but also finished it with a second place. The McLaren driver thus took valuable World Championship points, and is rid of his unwanted streak of races where he had to watch from the sidelines. Still, Piastri is a little disappointed with the timing of the safety car during the Japanese GP: ‘It would have been interesting to see what would have happened without the safety car’.
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After not even seeing the lights go out twice this season, Oscar Piastri had a world-class start in Japan. The Australian immediately shot from third place to the lead of the race. Soon George Russell came back from fourth place and a laps-long battle ensued between the two drivers. After the first pit stops and a safety car period following Oliver Bearman’s crash, however, it was another Mercedes driver, Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who drove ahead of Piastri and finished in first place.
‘Shame about the safety car’
After the race, Piastri is asked how differently his race would have gone if the safety car had not been there. “It would have been interesting to see what would have happened without the safety car,” the Australian also admits. “I was able to keep George (Russell, ed.) behind me, and before the pit stops we were also a bit faster. It’s a shame we didn’t get the chance to see what would have happened without the safety car.”
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Still, relief prevails for Piastri that he was not only able to finish the race, but also took valuable World Championship points for McLaren. “For us to be disappointed with a second place, that’s actually a nice situation to be in. We still need to get a bit more out of the car, but we took every chance we got.”
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Read everything about the Japanese GP here
