Lewis Hamilton was quick to congratulate Oscar Piastri and McLaren for winning Saturday evening’s sprint race, at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Starting from pole position for the 19-lap race, Piastri did well to keep his composure after falling behind George Russell in the opening laps.
Piastri started on the Medium compound whereas Russell started on the Softs, giving him an early grip and pace advantage.
However, the Soft compound quickly became too worn, allowing Piastri to cruise back into the lead of the sprint.
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He went onto claim the sprint victory by just over two-seconds, ahead of newly crowned three-time World Champion Max Verstappen.
It was a huge moment for the rookie, who’s unlikely to win Sunday’s main race as he starts from sixth.
Nevertheless, Hamilton – who finished P5 in the sprint – was quick to ask over the team radio if McLaren won the race, something he was delighted to hear about.
“Did McLaren win?” Hamilton asked not long after crossing the finishing line.
“Yea so we’ve got Piastri P1, Verstappen, Norris P3, George P4,” Hamilton’s race engineer replied.
“Ah, amazing! Impressive! Oscar and the team,” Hamilton said in jubilation.
Hamilton has often spoken very highly of his former team and has been a huge fan of seeing the Woking-based outfit back at the front and competing for regular podiums.
Piastri was delighted with the win in what was a chaotic 19 laps, where three Safety Cars were required.
He admitted afterwards that he expected Verstappen to catch him towards the end but was relieved that he didn’t.
“Yeah, very happy. Very stressful race,” Piastri said in his post-race interview in parc ferme.
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“When I saw all the soft guys come through at the start I thought we were in a bit of trouble but then their tyres fell off pretty quickly.
“The pace was reasonable and in a race where you had to manage a lot… I think we did a really good job. Anything you can try and learn tomorrow is important as well, I thought once he [Verstappen] got through into second I thought I’d be in a bit of trouble.
“Well done to him.”