Oscar Piastri saw most of his points advantage to Lando Norris eliminated in Monaco, with the Australian admitting to having a scrappy weekend at the Principality.
The Australian is only a few point ahead of his teammate heading into the Spanish GP, with Max Verstappen still within striking range.
Prior to Sunday’s race, there was optimism that mandating two pit-stops could create some variety.
This did not come to fruition, with the top 4 drivers finishing in the same position they started.
When assessing his Monaco GP, Piastri argued that the new rules in Monte Carlo had little concrete impact.
Piastri reflects on two-stops in Monaco
It is often said that Monaco is a race that does not provide enough excitement or entertainment.
Last year’s race, which was effectively nullified after the early red flag, saw this perspective gain even greater traction.
However, when looking back at the 2023, 2022 or even 2020 editions of the Monaco GP, the Principality often offers surprises on race day.
In many ways, the introduction of two mandatory pit-stops last weekend failed to have the desired impact on racing and strategy.
Several drivers, including Carlos Sainz, have expressed their dissatisfaction with how the race unfolded.
Having collected a second consecutive podium in Monaco, Piastri argued that there was little difference made from having two obligatory stops:
“It definitely made it a bit more tense at a few points.
“You had to push more at certain points to kind of recover the safety car windows to other cars around you, or put yourself outside of someone else’s safety car window.
“So there were some strategic elements involved. But ultimately, at the front, I don’t think it changed a whole lot.
“It would have been quite a different story if there was a red flag with five laps to go and Max would have won.
“I’m sure if we keep this going in the future, eventually a result like that will happen. Is that what we want to see? I don’t know.
“But at the front, I don’t think it changed a huge amount this weekend.”
A crucial Spanish GP after the Monaco experiment
F1 returns to a more traditional circuit this weekend, with the Spanish GP set to host round 9 of the season.
Max Verstappen narrowly defeated Lando Norris to take victory last year, as the two drivers cemented themselves as the title protagonists.
This season, however, Barcelona could be even more consequential in the Championship battle.
A new technical directive will force virtually every team to bring upgrades – specifically front wings – to comply with the FIA’s new ‘flexi-wing’ restrictions.
Whilst Spain (often the site of pre-season testing) has always been a common circuit to bring updates, there will be an especially high number of new components this weekend.
For McLaren, who have been the fastest car until now, the new rules threaten to upset their advantage.
This is certainly what Red Bull and team principal Christian Horner have been banking on.
Oscar Piastri, who is still within striking range of Max Verstappen, will hope that his MCL39 continues to have an edge over the RB21 – irrespective of the rule changes.
Main photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images (via McLaren media gallery)
