Piastri frustrated after McLaren F1 pace proves “really good surprise”

A disappointing qualifying for the Woking team saw the Australian start only 18th, but after avoiding the first corner mayhem he made good progress up the order and even ran in third place.

However, the strategy of running the opening two stints on hard tyres after a clash with Lewis Hamilton triggered a premature first pit visit and obliged him to make a late pitstop for mediums under green flag conditions.

That dropped him down the order,…