Oscar Piastri has accepted he put himself at extra risk of contact
on the opening lap of the São Paulo Grand Prix after a
disappointing qualifying result. Piastri ended Friday’s outing in
10th place after sliding off the track at the final corner when a
freak storm rolled in over the Interlagos circuit. The McLaren
driver was placed in the mid-pack when the race got underway and
was hit by Kevin Magnussen after the Haas driver was spun around
following contact with Alexander Albon. McLaren repaired Piastri’s
car during the subsequent red flag period which allowed him back
into the race, albeit a lap down on the rest of the field. “I hit
the brakes for Turn 1 and then looked in the mirror,” Piastri told
media including RacingNews365.com . “I saw someone’s tyre flying
through the air and thought that didn’t look very good. “Sure
enough, I got an impact after that, it’s a shame. There was nothing
I could have done.” Piastri pleased with extra Brazil experience
But blaming his connection to the incident on his poor qualifying,
Piastri added: “When you qualify in those kinds of positions, you
leave yourself much more at risk to stuff like that. “It all kind
of starts from Friday, unfortunately. After that [I] just tried to
stay on the lead lap. “And then, apart from that, [just] learn as
much as I could. It’s not been the easiest of weekends. “Thanks to
the amazing effort from everyone to get the car back together in 20
minutes, which was no easy feat. “I’ve got an extra 70 laps that I
otherwise wouldn’t have. So, you know, I learned a lot, just in
general, but also, when I come back [to Brazil] next year.”
Source: Read More