Oscar Piastri 'robbed' of F1 victory as McLaren strategy backfires at Italian Grand Prix

Oscar Piastri has joined a chorus of F1 fans in bemoaning McLaren's tyre strategy in the Italian Grand Prix, which ultimately cost the Aussie victory. Charles Leclerc gave Ferrari a stunning home win after he successfully pulled off a bold one-stop strategy to deny McLaren a one-two finish.

Piastri had taken the lead from pole-sitting teammate Lando Norris on the opening lap, but McLaren's decision to let them duke it out for the lead early in the race came back to bite them. Piastri and Norris both burned through their tyres and were forced to make two stops, but that strategy unravelled when Leclerc eked out his set of hard tyres for 38 laps to limp over the finish line first.

The result left Norris 62 points behind Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who finished only sixth, with eight races remaining. "Mamma Mia, Mamma Mia," screamed Leclerc over the car radio as he took the chequered flag. "It's an incredible feeling. I want to win Monza and Monaco every year and I have managed to do so. It is so, so special."

Piastri was clearly disappointed at finishing second and missing out on winning a second career F1 race. The Aussie was critical of McLaren's call to pit twice.

"I wasn't surprised you stayed out, I was surprised you survived," Piastri told Leclerc in the cooldown room. He added later: "It hurts. It hurts a lot. I did a lot of things right today. There was a lot of question marks on the strategy going into the race. Doing a one-stop looked like a very risky call - and in the end it was right.

"Today we unfortunately got it a bit wrong, we had everything to lose from being in the lead. Charles could try something different as he'd finish third either way. Painful."

F1 fans blast McLaren after Oscar Piastri 'robbed' of victory

Leclerc was 11 seconds clear with seven laps to go and just 8.3 ahead with five remaining. But he crossed the line 2.664 ahead of Piastri and Norris.

"We considered a one-stop strategy the whole race but it was not possible with the amount of (tyre) graining I had," said Norris, who had started the day 70 points behind Max Verstappen and hoping to gain far more. "We are disappointed but Ferrari drove a better race."

Fans were highly critical of McLaren's strategy and suggested it robbed Piastri of victory. One person wrote on social media: "McLaren strategists strike again, there’s no way a Ferrari is kinder on its tyres then this McLaren." Another commented: "Remember when both Piastri and Norris did fastest laps after fastest laps at the start of the hard stint and pushed each other? Well done that was when both of them lost the race and f***ed the tyres. If just ONE of them preserved their tyres they would have won it."

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Max Verstappen rages over 'undriveable monster' car

McLaren could have taken the lead in the constructors' championship, but instead ended the day still eight points behind Red Bull. Carlos Sainz was fourth for Ferrari, while the Italian team's future driver Lewis Hamilton was fifth for Mercedes.

Verstappen finished down in sixth, while George Russell was seventh for Mercedes and Red Bull's Sergio Perez eighth. Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo finished 13th after starting in 12th on the grid.

Verstappen was left fuming at the state of his car, describing it as an "underivable monster". He said after the race: "It’s a massive balance problem that we have, and that is not only over one lap but also the race. Last year we had a great car, which was the most dominant car ever, and we basically turned it into a monster.”

with agencies