Ex-Formula 1 driver turned pundit Martin Brundle believes McLaren sensation Oscar Piastri is starting to get “involved in too many skirmishes”, following his unfortunate collision with Lewis Hamilton last weekend at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
Piastri finished 10th in Sin City and also claimed the fastest lap, after what was a chaotic race for the young Australian driver.
His weekend got off to a rocky start after being eliminated in Q1, where he was joined by teammate Lando Norris.
Piastri and Norris both being dumped out in Q1 marked the first time since Miami earlier this season that neither McLaren driver progressed to Q2.
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The 22-year-old started the race in 18th but he miraculously made up six places on the opening lap alone.
He showed excellent race craft to avoid the first corner chaos, which was caused by Fernando Alonso and Carlos Sainz spinning.
After Norris crashed out heavily in the opening laps, Piastri settled into the race on the cusp of the top-10, with a points finish looking likely.
However, he soon had a recovering Lewis Hamilton on his tail, after the Mercedes driver tumbled down the order on the first lap.
Hamilton dived up the inside of Piastri with ease, only for the rookie to turn into the seven-time World Champion.
It was an unnecessary incident which impacted both drivers, as both cars picked up a puncture as a result.
Piastri was able to pit seconds after the collision, whilst Hamilton was forced to complete an entire lap with the deflated tyre, as his didn’t go down until he’d passed pit-entry.
The 22-year-old recovered from the collision – which was judged as a racing incident by the stewards – beautifully, as he got himself into fourth.
However, fourth became 10th at the end of the race, as he had to pit in the closing laps to ensure that he used two different compounds.
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P10 arguably didn’t represent how quick he was during the race, with Brundle noting that once his “judgement” improves and he avoids collisions “he’ll be mighty”.
“Oscar Piastri scored fastest lap and had a super-aggressive drive from his lowly grid position,” Brundle wrote in his Sky Sports column.
“He perhaps gets involved in too many skirmishes, this time a racing incident with Hamilton, but when he adds better control and judgement to his speed given more experience, he’ll be mighty.”