Oscar Piastri placed the blame on himself after a dramatic spin into the grass at the F1 Australian Grand Prix.
McLaren might have completed a one-two finish, justifying the pre-race hype around their pace, until Piastri’s nightmare moment on his home turf.
On Lap 44, a rain shower caused Piastri to get out of shape at Turn 12. He found himself in the grass and had to reverse his car back into the race, where he rejoined in 13th.
“It’s obviously pretty disappointing,” he told Sky Sports.
“I feel like, in every lap apart from one, I drove a strong race. It’s a shame not to have a result to show for it.
“I don’t have anyone to blame but myself.
“I think it was unfortunate to get stuck. But it was only myself that put me there. I am disappointed.”
Piastri added: “The positive was the other 56 laps. I felt that I had strong pace in all conditions.
“The team made the right decisions. Myself? Given I was trying to reverse for about a minute, we still made the right decisions.
“I am proud of the team, it’s just a shame not to have a better result.”
“Not necessarily,” he replied. “It would hurt if I had a bad car.
“There was much more on the table than P9 so it’s a shame not to have that result.”
“He drove great to get back to P9.”
Sky Sports’ Karun Chandhok analysed Piastri: “For 57 laps, minor one corner, his race was brilliant.
“Four overtakes to get back into the points.
“Apart from that error he was brilliant.”
“They were the first cars on slick tyres on a track that was changing with every section.
“I felt sorry for him, he looked quick today.”