It was a matter of ‘when’ not ‘if’ Verstappen would pass – Piastri

Oscar Piastri said he didn’t stand a chance of preventing Max Verstappen from passing him for the lead of the Belgian Grand Prix sprint race.

The Red Bull driver started on pole with Piastri alongside him on the front row. Piastri was one of 10 drivers to then pit at the end of the opening lap for intermediate tyres, after starting with full wets on a drying track.

Verstappen came in the following lap, but exited the pit lane behind leader Piastri. But following a Safety Car restart on lap six of 11, Verstappen reclaimed the lead with an overtake down the Kemmel straight. He went on to finish the race six seconds ahead of the McLaren driver in second.

Piastri said his McLaren’s straight-line speed deficit compared to the Red Bull was always going to make it hard to stop Verstappen passing him.

“I knew it was going to be difficult to hold him behind,” Piastri said. “I probably wasn’t expecting him to catch me literally at the top of Eau Rouge off the Safety Car restart, but such is our straight line speed.

“I was just focusing on trying to do the best job I could knowing that it was probably going to be ‘when’ Max came pass rather than ‘if’. But I tried my best and I think second was all we had.”

Piastri said the decision to pit for intermediate tyres on the first lap “was pretty obvious” and the pace he showed during his out-lap made him confident of taking the lead.

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“For us it was pretty clear we would box for inters,” he added. “There’s always the risk that maybe you hit some standing water or whatever, but I think I could see how quickly I was catching the guys ahead that stayed out on wets and I knew I’d be in a pretty decent spot.”

After a difficult start to the season, Piastri has now scored points in the past three races he’s competed in. “In a general trend, it’s going in the right direction,” he said. “I’m getting more and more comfortable with the car.

“Of course, the car is much better now than it was at the start of the year which helps with just the feeling of the car, but also knowing that if you do a good job, you can fight for the top three.”

McLaren only scored points in three of the first eight races. Their season was transformed by the introduction of an upgrade package at the Austrian Grand Prix. Piastri’s team mate Lando Norris has stood on the podium at the last the two rounds.

Piastri said the team’s progress has been encouraging. “Once we got the season underway it was a pretty distant dream that we’d be able to compete for the top three,” he said.

“To now be here consistently for the last three weekends is pretty remarkable. So, it’s been amazing for me.”

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