‘Starting second is not too bad!’ – Piastri reflects on ‘lively’ overtake after taking victory at Spa

Oscar Piastri was delighted to bounce back from losing out in Saturday’s Sprint to win the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday, with the Australian proud of his “lively” Lap 1 overtake on team mate Lando Norris that saw him move into the lead.

Piastri had lined up in P1 on the grid for the Sprint earlier in the weekend but then missed out on victory after being passed by Max Verstappen, while he experienced further disappointment in Qualifying later in the day when he was beaten to pole by the other McLaren of Norris.

However, the 24-year-old looked keen to make up for that come race day. Following a delayed start owing to the wet conditions, Piastri battled with Norris on the opening lap when the action got underway and got a better run than his team mate through Eau Rouge, allowing him to then make the move.

Asked after jumping out of the car about how it had felt behind the wheel, Piastri smiled: “Lively, very lively. I knew that Lap 1 was going to be probably my best chance of winning the race, and I got a good exit out of Turn 1 and lifted as little as I dared through Eau Rouge, and then it was enough.

“The rest of the race we managed really well, struggling a little bit at the end. Maybe the medium [tyre] wasn’t the best for the last five or six laps, but we had it mostly under control which is what I wanted.

“I was pretty disappointed with myself after yesterday, but turns out starting second at Spa is not too bad after all.”

Pushed on how much he had already decided to take the risk before the race had started, Piastri admitted: “To be honest I was a bit disappointed it was a rolling start because I thought that was going to take away some opportunity.

“I got a good exit out of Turn 1, was able to stay close and when I was that close I knew that I’d just got to lift a little bit less than Lando did and try and keep it on the track. [It was] a bit lively up over the hill, but [I] managed to make it stick and from there the tow helped me out. I’m proud of my first lap.”

During the switch from the intermediate tyres to the slicks, Piastri bolted on the medium compound while Norris swapped for the hard rubber.

Reflecting on whether he was happy with the decision, the eight-time race winner said: “I kind of had the same plan if I was going to be second. I kind of knew that was going to be a likely decision for him.

“I think for me the medium was the safest tyre to be on at that point. You never know if someone’s going to crash and there’s going to be a Safety Car, and then at that point you want a medium and also the medium seemed good in the Sprint yesterday.

“I think it didn’t make too much difference, but when you’re fighting like that 1-2 you’re always going to try and gain an advantage in one way or another, and I think we did the safest thing.”

In just a few days’ time, the F1 paddock will move on to Budapest for the Hungarian Grand Prix over the weekend of August 1-3. The venue was the scene of Piastri’s debut race win last year, meaning that he is looking forward to returning this time around.

“It’s going to be exciting to go back,” he explained. “It’s a track I enjoy and scene of my first win last year, so [I’m] looking forward to getting back and hopefully we can continue the momentum because the pace has been incredibly strong.”