Oscar Piastri has said that strategic risks taken by lower teams at this weekend’s Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix could impact those fighting for victory.
The Australian arrives in Monaco 13 points ahead in the Drivers’ Championship, knowing a win in the principality would not only be another milestone in his blossoming F1 career, but also further cements his title credentials.
McLaren will come into the 82nd instalment of the famous street circuit race off the back of a flat performance last time out at Imola, in which the team were comprehensively beaten by the Red Bull of Max Verstappen.
Monaco provides a totally unique challenge for all the teams, with many of the teams keeping their powder dry as to what their chances are.
An additional curveball is the introduction of the mandatory two-stop rule this year, brought in by the FIA in a bid to create further excitement in what can be a mundane Grand Prix.
Proceedings could, of course, be further spiced-up by a potential Safety Car, which would not be a wild impossibility around the principality.
Speaking to media, including Motorsport Week, Piastri believes that these instances could have a knock-on effect to the front-runners, if the backmarkers and midfielders take a ‘suck it and see’ approach.
“A complicated one. A very complicated one. I think there’s a lot of caveats involved,” he said, when asked what sort of picture of the race he was envisaging.
“I think there is going to be a lot of gambling on Safety Cars, red flags, especially if you’re not a high points-paying position. There’s going to be a lot of risks taken, because ultimately if it goes wrong, you’re not losing anything. So it makes it potentially more difficult for the teams at the top, such as ourselves, but it makes it more difficult for everybody, not just one team.
“So we’ll wait and see, but it is very complicated going through all the stuff we’ve gone through today. It’s not simple. Not simple at all.”
Oscar Piastri: Monaco pole vital despite having ‘the most to lose’
Oscar Piastri said that pole position in Monaco is, of course, possibly the most important one for any drivers to have in terms of win possibility.
However, by taking the coveted first slot on the grid in the principality comes with a lot of responsibility, as he pointed out.
“I would still rather be on pole than anywhere else, but I think here it’s a bit different, because it gives you control of the race,” he said. “It’s not like a normal race, where we saw last year, if you want to drive 10 seconds a lap slower, you can.
“So it’s quite different to a normal place, but it does make things very difficult, because you have the most to lose. That’s kind of the biggest thing.
“Everyone else behind you can take a few more risks. There’s different team strategies that you can deploy, but it’s very, very complicated.
“My head’s still kind of untwisting itself from some of the meetings we’ve had today!”
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