(Motorsports news) During a tense duel in the second half of the race, Piastri made touch with Yuki Tsunoda twice. The AlphaTauri driver was sent off the road during the second collision when he attempted to pass on the outside at Turn 1. The FIA conducted an investigation but took no further action. A few laps later, Piastri was instructed to let Norris to pass so that the British driver could attack the cars ahead during his stunning drive from 17th to fifth place.

Piastri had to settle with eighth place, finishing 10 seconds behind Norris. “Yeah, some big moves,” he stated of his fight with Tsunoda. “I believe in hard racing. I’m not sure what happened for me at the end, I was just braking and then we touched wheels.” So that’s all there is to it. “At that time, I had some damage. Lando, I believe, was the fastest of all. So attempting to battle each other made no sense.

“In the end, it meant that Lando got two more spots.” So, overall, things went good for the team.” When asked if the damage was the only source of his teammate’s pace gap, Piastri replied, “I think there’s still an element of tyre management, definitely. Of course, the damage didn’t help, and I was battling Yuki quite hard, which didn’t help either. But there is always room for improvement.” Piastri remarked that eighth place was disappointing after recent results.

“I think with the pace we have in our car now, I don’t really think that it’s much to brag about,” he added. “I’m still seeking for more. “I just struggled a little bit in certain parts.” And, I believe, made life much, much more difficult. “The pace was similar with the cars around us.” Lando was simply extremely powerful in his last stint and was able to come through.”

Andrea Stella, McLaren team chief, revealed that tyres and car damage both played a role in Piastri’s afternoon. “On Oscar’s side with the contact, we lost between 20 and 15 points of downforce,” the Stella added. “Which, on a track like this, is three or four tenths, so that was a little disappointing. At the same time, Oscar’s tyres were worn out more than Lando’s.” It’s comparable to what we witnessed in the sprint in Austin.

“Oscar had more damaged tyres, and it appears that it makes a significant difference.” Then you feel pressure. “Then you need to manage, you need to use your battery to defend, and you enter in a loop in which you struggle to find the pace.”

Also read: Vasseur: Leclerc’s Mexico F1 race was destroyed by a hard tyre stint