Credits: IMAGO / HochZwei

Charles Leclerc won the Italian GP on Ferrari’s home ground by opting for the bold one-stop strategy. Oscar Piastri wasn’t far behind and was visibly frustrated after the race, slamming Lance Stroll for driving slowly and costing him time. With Piastri finishing just over two seconds behind Leclerc, the Aussie reveals why the Italian GP result was a tough pill to swallow.

As Piastri looked back at the Italian GP, he said on the Quadlock YouTube channel, “They [Ferrari] were very brave with a one-stop strategy for Charles. It was painful to swallow but I think for me, I did a lot of things right in the race.”

“I don’t think we were ready to take that risk [one stop]. Whenever you cross the finish line so close to the winner it’s a bit painful but still a good weekend.”, he added.

Piastri started the race in P2 and overtook Lando Norris on lap 1 to take the lead in the race. The Aussie built a comfortable lead ahead of Leclerc, keeping the Monegasque out of the DRS range. The gap remained around the two-second mark during the first pitstop.

By lap 35, Piastri was able to carve out a lead of over five seconds to get in prime position to win the race, but his tires were degrading. It was then that McLaren decided to play it safe and pit for fresh tires. The Aussie did his best but fell just a lap or two short in his attempt to retake the lead from Leclerc who stayed out.

Nonetheless, Piastri got the better of Leclerc at the very next race in Azerbaijan by winning on pure merit.

Piastri’s triumph in Baku after Monza heartbreak

Piastri started the Azerbaijan GP race behind Leclerc and was stuck in P2 for a while. The Aussie then made an audacious move into the heavy braking zone of turn 1 and made it stick. From then on, the McLaren driver led the race and was clinical with every movement.

Leclerc was right on Piastri’s gearbox for over half the race distance, but the calm Aussie handled the situation well. The Monegasque’s tires eventually gave up towards the end as he was driving in McLaren’s dirty air for a long period.

Piastri easily cruised home to victory, with a 10-plus second gap to Leclerc behind him. The MCL38 has been the strongest car in the performance index for a while with McLaren planning to bring further upgrades in the upcoming races.