Oscar Piastri, the Australian driver for McLaren, has no issues with his team’s decision to use team orders during the Australian Grand Prix. Piastri was running in fourth place, two positions behind his teammate Lando Norris, when Ferrari and McLaren chose to pit early to cover Mercedes’ pit stop for George Russell. McLaren called Piastri in for a pit stop, allowing him to undercut Norris once the Briton made his first stop a few laps later. However, McLaren then instructed Piastri to let Norris pass him midway through the race, as Norris was faster and had a better chance of overtaking Charles Leclerc. Piastri understands and accepts this decision, even though he would have loved to achieve a podium finish on home soil.
Piastri acknowledges that Norris qualified ahead of him and was catching up to him during the race. He believed that Norris had a better chance of challenging Leclerc for position, so he was actually hoping Norris would pass him. Piastri believes that McLaren’s decision to let Norris through was fair and the right call.
In terms of his own performance, Piastri admits to making a few mistakes during qualifying, which cost him a better starting position. He had a lock-up into the penultimate corner, resulting in a loss of four seconds during the race. Despite these errors, Piastri is pleased with McLaren’s overall pace and considers it a solid result. He did struggle a bit in the middle of the second stint, causing some tire graining, but overall, it was a strong day for him.
Piastri also mentions his surprise at Sergio Perez’s lack of pace during the race. He expected Perez to make a comeback, but that didn’t happen. This gives Piastri and others on the grid some optimism for future races.
Overall, Piastri is content with McLaren’s team orders and his own performance, despite a few mistakes. He remains optimistic for the upcoming races.