Oscar Piastri has admitted that he was hopeful of being able to catch the Mercedes pair as he chased them down during the latter stages of the Belgian Grand Prix, but the McLaren driver remains happy with his team continuing to cut into Red Bull’s lead.
After starting from P5 on the grid, Piastri had a better launch than team mate Lando Norris and put himself ahead off the line. From there the Australian displayed good pace as he overtook drivers including Sergio Perez and Charles Leclerc during the 44-lap encounter.
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With Lewis Hamilton on the tail of George Russell as the race neared its conclusion, Piastri managed to hone in on the Silver Arrows cars but ultimately could not get close enough, crossing the line in third before later being promoted to second after Russell was disqualified post-race due to his car being underweight.
Speaking immediately after the Grand Prix – and before Russell’s disqualification – Piastri was quizzed on whether he felt he could get the Mercedes duo, to which he answered: “Honestly yes, I thought I could.
