F1 News: Oscar Piastri Calls Out FIA After Qatar GP Chaos - 'Not Very Smart'

Saajan Jogia | 16 Hours Ago

Nov 20, 2024; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; McLaren Team driver Oscar Piastri (81) during media availalbilities at Las Vegas Circuit. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Oscar Piastri criticized the FIA for its "not very smart" and delayed reaction to Alex Albon's dislodged wing mirror on his FW46 F1 car during the Qatar Grand Prix. Initially, the incident prompted a double yellow flag, but things escalated when Valtteri Bottas ran over the mirror, shattering it and scattering debris across the track. The McLaren driver argued that a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) or Safety Car should have been deployed immediately to address the situation.

Soon after Bottas went over the wing mirror, Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton suffered from punctures on their cars, which prompted the governing body to bring out the Safety Car. Piastri reckoned that he didn't know where the mirror was on the track despite the double yellow flag. The FIA clarified that the dislodged mirror was intact and off the racing line, warranting only double yellow flags.

A Safety Car was deployed only after Bottas ran over the mirror, scattering debris on the track. However, Piastri holds a different view from the standard protocol. Offering his judgment on the matter, the 23-year-old said in a statement:

“I think the right thing to do would have been a VSC or a Safety Car pretty much straight away.

“I didn’t really know where the mirror was, but after seeing it on the big screen, being basically in the braking zone for Turn 1 when you’re trying to overtake, I don’t really know what we were going to do until someone hit it, because I think having it sit there for 30 laps of the race would have been not very smart.

“So I think, yes, probably should have been a bit earlier because, you know, at racing speeds, especially in that part of the track, you can’t have a marshal run on and just simply pick it up.”

Starting fourth on the grid, Piastri secured the third spot on the podium, behind Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and race winner Max Verstappen. Despite the race result, he felt the car lacked pace in certain areas of the track. He added:

“I think the pace was decent, just not quite strong enough in the right places on the track, which made trying to get close pretty tough.

“Once I had some clean air, the pace was strong.

“Fighting for the win, given where I started and how the first part of the race panned out was always going to be a challenge, but I’m pretty happy to end up on the podium.”

Elaborating on the McLaren MCL38 F1 car's performance on the Lusail International Circuit, the Australian driver compared it to the 2023 Qatar GP, where McLaren was a strong contender. He continued:

“Our car in certain conditions is quite different to last year as well, and I feel like some of our strengths that we had last year are not really strengths anymore because everybody else has caught up to us and I feel like some of our weaknesses are not really our weaknesses either, and I feel like it’s a much more well-rounded car.

“But I think also maybe the grip level has taken away some of our strengths that we’ve had in the past here.

“But I always thought it was going to be pretty tough between the top four teams.”

Speaking about the season finale this weekend, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Piastri predicts another close battle between the top four teams, as seen in Qatar, but he expects Ferrari to be stronger. The Red team trails McLaren by just 21 points in the Constructors' Championship, and the win could be anybody's. He added:

“[Yas Marina] will be a track that’s stronger for Ferrari.

“I was maybe a little bit surprised at the pace they had today [in Qatar].

“But I don’t think we’ll be slow next week either. I think it will be a good battle.

“The top four teams at the moment are very, very close on their days. I’m expecting more of the same.”