The mood of both McLaren drivers couldn’t have been more different at the end of the Australian Grand Prix.
Lando Norris leads the drivers’ championship for the first time in his career after a stunning victory from pole position.
The British driver had a tough task in changeable conditions that caught out nearly every rookie on the grid and some more experienced drivers as well.
McLaren must have thought they were on for a one-two to start the season with Oscar Piastri running just behind his teammate.
However, on lap 44, the complexion of the entire race changed when a downpour started in the final sector, catching Norris and Piastri off guard.
They both flew off the track, but while Norris was able to quickly recover and head straight down the pit lane for intermediate tyres, Piastri was beached in the grass for nearly a lap before eventually getting his car moving again.
McLaren may have made a strategy error that cost Piastri points but nothing was going to see him finish on the podium after his mistake.
F1 world champion Damon Hill reacted to the Australian’s costly error and has made a prediction about the 23-year-old for the rest of the season.
Damon Hill makes ‘he’ll be back’ Oscar Piastri prediction after Australian Grand Prix spin
Hill was responding to Piastri’s comments earlier in the day when he joked about getting stuck on the grass at the penultimate corner when the rain suddenly arrived.
The Australian joked on Instagram: “I spent some time trying to learn how to reverse a tractor at Jeremy Clarkson’s farm. It came in handy today.”
In reply to his on his Instagram story, Hill said: “Good if you can see the funny side,” before declaring, “He’ll be back.”
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Piastri can take plenty of positives from the race even if he didn’t get off to the best start.
Max Verstappen passed him on the first lap, once again showing off his unbelievable ability to get off the line quickest even when he’s up against faster cars.
However, once the Australian passed Verstappen after he made an uncharacteristic error, Piastri was the man to watch on track.
Oscar Piastri caused McLaren’s first team order headache with superior Australian Grand Prix speed
Once Piastri overtook Verstappen, he had Norris in his sights, knowing full well how important an early points lead could be when it comes to their decision-making in the future.
While McLaren have the fastest car this season, they also have two drivers in contention to win the championship.
Liam Lawson was particularly off the pace in his first race for Red Bull and while the team will expect him to be closer to Verstappen in the future, he’s not in contention to win the title.
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That means McLaren may have to commit to one of their drivers sooner than they would like to stop the Dutchman from gaining any sort of advantage.
However, McLaren fans were upset that Piastri was subject to team orders during the first Grand Prix of the season.
Although there was context to the call – lapping backmarkers to avoid Verstappen gaining too much time and a potential tangle between the pair – Piastri was left questioning the decision.
He’ll have to hope the same instruction isn’t repeated at next weekend’s Chinese Grand Prix.
