Oscar Piastri believes his Singapore Grand Prix puncture actually helped him overtake Lewis Hamilton for fifth place in Sunday’s Formula 1 race.
Piastri lay a lonely sixth – 20 seconds down on third-placed Lewis Hamilton and seven seconds adrift of team-mate Lando Norris – when the virtual safety car was called into action on lap 39 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, as Lance Stroll pulled aside due to a clutch issue.
Oscar Piastri
Despite having the oldest tyres of any frontrunner by some margin, Lewis Hamilton decided to stay out on worn soft rubber. So did Oscar Piastri, whose medium tyres were 15 laps younger, but a slow puncture actually forced the McLaren driver into a second stop on lap 41.
Piastri rejoined on soft rubber, with a 37-second deficit to Lewis Hamilton, but was two seconds a lap quicker and bridged that gap by the antepenultimate lap. The Ferrari racer staunchly defended his position but was powerless at the end of that 44-lap stint with the red-walled compound.
“That was definitely the most we could have done, we didn't have the pace to do any more. Obviously, here is a massive track-position race,” Oscar Piastri pointed out.
“I feel like personally, I did a pretty good job. Obviously, the puncture was a bit of a shame, but ironically, it actually probably helped. I got Lewis Hamilton at the end, so there is a silver lining to everything.”
Following up on his overtake, the Australian added: “It was tough, because also, once you get there, it doesn't take much to overheat the tyres and you kind of get stuck at their pace.
“But with how quickly I was catching, I would have been pretty disappointed in myself if I didn't get past. So, a bit of excitement, which was good, because otherwise it was a pretty lonely race.”
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella said the reason for the slow puncture was yet to be elucidated and the squad would look into it with tyre supplier Pirelli.
“It's honestly a pretty unusual event,” Stella commented. “Like, it's the first time that I hear about a slow puncture this year. It didn't cost very much to Oscar Piastri today, but in a closer race, it could have been a significant loss of time, so definitely something that we need to get on top of. I don't think that this is a team-dependent kind of issue. But ideally, it doesn't happen for any competitor.”
Piastri’s “pretty lonely race” marked his 13th consecutive grand prix without a podium finish – his worst streak since the beginning of his rookie season in 2023.
Source: Motorsport
