'Having a real struggle': Piastri's 'horrible' tumble explained as Max ...

22 Oct 2023

Fox Sports

McLaren’s Oscar Piastri endured a torrid time in the sprint race, dropping from fifth all the way down to tenth.

Piastri did well to hold off Red Bull’s Sergio Perez for a number of corners in the opening laps, but could not keep the Mexican at bay for long enough as he eventually overtook him.

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It went from bad to worse for the Australian rookie, as Mercedes’ George Russell, Alpine’s Pierre Gasly and even Williams’ Alexander Albon eventually overtook him.

However, Russell was given a five second penalty for going off the track when overtaking Piastri but still finished within the points.

Commentator David Croft said Piastri was “having a real struggle out there” while Martin Brundle said he had “horrible race pace.”

But pit lane reporter Anthony Davidson explained why Piastri had tumbled down the leaderboard as the Aussie’s engineer told him his tyres were overheating having pushed too hard too early.

Ricciardo ready to race again | 00:55

Meanwhile, newly-crowned three-time world champion Max Vertappen added eight more points to his title-winning tally as he cruised to victory for Red Bull.

The 26-year-old Dutchman led unchallenged from pole position to chequered flag to finish nearly ten seconds clear of revitalised seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes. Charles Leclerc came home third for Ferrari.

It was Verstappen’s third sprint race win of the season and buoyed his prospects for another triumph in Sunday’s Grand Prix race when he will start from sixth on the grid after having his best qualifying lap deleted for exceeding track limits.

Lando Norris maintained McLaren’s much-improved form by taking a strong fourth place ahead of Sergio Perez in the second Red Bull and Carlos Sainz in the second Ferrari.

UNITED STATES GP SPRINT RESULTS

1st: Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

2nd: Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

3rd: Charles Leclerc (Ferrari)

4th: Lando Norris (McLaren)

5th: Sergio Perez (Red Bull)

6th: Carlos Sainz (Ferrari)

7th: Pierre Gasly (Alpine)

8th: George Russell (Mercedes)

9th: Alexander Albon (Williams)

10th: Oscar Piastri (McLaren)

11th: Esteban Ocon (Alpine)