\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Oscar Piastri suggests that the Madring street circuit needs more overtaking zones. Speaking to the media after the race, including Sportskeeda, the McLaren driver felt the only circuit more difficult for overtaking than Madrid was Monaco.<\/p>\n
Starting seventh on the grid, Piastri lost three positions at the start. He maximized his hard-tyre stint, completing 41 laps on the compound before switching to the mediums for the final 16 laps. Despite the strategy, the Australian was unable to regain seventh place and eventually settled for eighth. Given the nature of the circuit and its limited overtaking opportunities, it was difficult for him to recover the positions he had lost.<\/p>\n
The Spanish<\/a> GP had only one VSC period throughout the race, with no other major incidents. It also recorded the fewest overtakes of the season so far. Piastri felt that even the overtakes that did take place were often made by cutting the circuit or corners, which eventually resulted in the position having to be handed back. He hoped more changes could be made to the circuit, as he felt the current layout was not exemplary for racing.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/template><\/p>\n Asked by Sportskeeda what could be tweaked around the circuit to produce better racing, Oscar Piastri replied:<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, it just needs a much better overtaking zone, that chicane. You know, even the overtakes that got pulled off, it was normally because someone had to cut the track and give up the spot rather than actually overtaking. So, yeah, hopefully they can make some changes because at the moment I think the only track more difficult to overtake on is Monaco. So it’s not ideal.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Oscar Piastri believes his race was compromised by damage to his car from the opening lap. He felt starting in the midfield did not make things any easier. At the start of the race, the Melbourne-born driver damaged his car after making contact with George Russell<\/a>. He suffered front-left damage to his wing plate, which caused a loss of downforce. The McLaren driver reckoned the damage compromised most of his race. He expected the Briton to leave him more room and felt the incident was a result of being in a tricky position.<\/p>\n Reacting to losing places at the start and describing his race, Oscar Piastri said:<\/p>\n \u201cCorrect. It was just a tough afternoon from midfield to start. So, yeah, from then on, the rest of the race was very compromised, obviously, with some of the damage and the track position mainly. So that made it very, very tricky.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Asked about the clash with Russell, Oscar Piastri said:<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I mean, I was alongside, and he just kept squeezing me to the wall, and then I hit the brakes, and kind of avoided him. But amongst all that, he hit the brakes, everyone hit the brakes, and we kind of got stuck together, and everything. But, yeah, I mean, I was just expecting a bit more space, and, yeah, obviously, between a car and a wall, you can’t make any more space. That was tricky.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Oscar Piastri has had one second-place finish in Japan and a third-place finish in Miami. His lowest finishes have been 11th in the 2026 Canadian GP and British GP. The nine-time Grand Prix winner has not enjoyed a similar run to that of his late 2024 or 2025 season. Currently, Piastri is seventh in the drivers\u2019 championship with 120 points, while his teammate Lando Norris<\/a> is fourth with 186 points. Norris has also won two races and secured five podium finishes in total. <\/p>\n McLaren are currently third in the constructors\u2019 championship with 306 points and are only 52 points behind Ferrari. However, they are 197 points behind championship leaders Mercedes<\/a>.<\/p>\nOscar Piastri rues frustrating Madrid race<\/h2>\n