Oscar Piastri "Speechless" After Critical McLaren Blunder In Qatar Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri was left clearly frustrated after McLaren's Qatar Grand Prix strategy threw away a much-needed victory in his fight for the drivers' title.

The Australian had dominated the entire weekend at the Lusail International Circuit, securing pole and the win for the sprint on Friday and Saturday, and then again taking pole for the grand prix.

A perfect start to the race saw him stretch clear of Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who had jumped championship leader Lando Norris in the second McLaren off the line, leaving him in control on a circuit that has been proven to be hard to overtake around.

Strategy error proves costly

Oscar Piastri, Max Verstappen, McLaren, Red Bull, Qatar — McLaren Racing

But, with Pirelli mandating a maximum stint length of 25 laps for any tire compound and in a 57-lap race, a safety car on lap 7 to retrieve Nico Hulkenberg's Sauber from a dangerous spot at Turn 1 after contact with Alpine's Pierre Gasly prompted the entire field to make a pitstop.

This was in the knowledge that just one stop from that point onwards would fulfill the 25-lap obligation, yet McLaren opted to keep Piastri and Norris on track. It proved to be an error as Piastri faced a 17-second deficit to Verstappen after his own final stop, and although he took almost 10 seconds off that gap, it wasn't enough to retake the lead.

Piastri is now the outsider of the three-way fight for the title and, perhaps knowing his hopes were slipping away, the Australian told his team over the radio post-race: "Speechless, I don't have any words."

Recounting his race, he said: “Clearly we didn’t get it right tonight,” Piastri, who trails leader Lando Norris by 16 points ahead of the season finale, said. “I drove the best race that I could, as fast as I could and there was nothing left out there, so tried my best, but wasn’t to be tonight.

MORE: F1 Standings After The Qatar Grand Prix

Our duo both make a stop and switch out for a new set of mediums 👊#McLaren | #QatarGP 🇶🇦 pic.twitter.com/ievyP4ZJj3
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) November 30, 2025

“I think in hindsight, it’s pretty obvious what we should have done, but I’m sure we’ll discuss it as a team. It’s not all bad. Obviously, it’s been a really good weekend. The pace has been very strong but obviously a little bit tough to swallow at the moment.”

Speaking to Sky Sports UK, Piastri added: "Feeling pretty crap."I don't know what to say. I didn't put a foot wrong, it's just a shame not to walk away with the win."

Piastri trails by 16 points heading into the Abu Dhabi finale, having been 34 points up after the Dutch Grand Prix.

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