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Oscar Piastri 'miracle' stuns F1 world as Mexico Grand Prix rocked by 'ridiculous' drama

The young Aussie's stellar performance went largely unnoticed amid the chaos.

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·5-min read

Oscar Piastri made up a whopping nine places to finish eighth in the Mexico Grand Prix on Sunday (Monday morning Australian time), salvaging some points for McLaren after starting in 17th. Carlos Sainz won the race after championship leader Max Verstappen was penalised twice for his driving against title rival Lando Norris and ended up finishing sixth.

Norris finished second, slashing Verstappen's overall lead from 57 points to 47 with four rounds remaining, and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc was third with a bonus point for fastest lap. Amid the chaos, Piastri's stunning drive went largely unnoticed, but the young Aussie showed every bit of his ability.

Oscar Piastri during the Mexico Grand Prix.
Oscar Piastri finished eighth after starting the Mexico Grand Prix in 17th. Image: Getty

Forced to start from 17th on the grid after dramas with his car in qualifying, Piastri produced an overtaking masterclass to finish with four points in eighth spot. It marked a remarkable achievement for the Australian driver, who appeared long odds to get in the top 10 after a disastrous weekend before the main race.

"The medium [tyre] I just didn’t have much confidence on, and the first soft [tyre] lap I was doing was very positive, and then I just went wide at Turn 12 and that was that," he said on Saturday. “Then we tried to go again but I just had zero grip, the tyres were too hot. Disappointing.”

Verstappen, who pitted from third place to serve two 10-second penalties on lap 27, had to fight back from 15th after starting on the front row with Sainz on pole position. His behaviour was again the talk of the F1 world, with stewards taking a hard line against the champion for forcing Norris off the track after a controversial previous weekend in Texas where it paid off.

"I was ahead the whole way through the corner. This guy is dangerous," exclaimed Norris over the team radio after being forced wide. "It's the same as last time. I'll be in the wall in a minute."

Stewards punished Verstappen for firstly forcing Norris off and then doing the same and gaining an advantage in the second incident. Norris said after the race: "It was a tough race. A lot of the first few laps was trying to stay in the race and avoid any crashes. I knew what to expect (from Max). I didn't want to expect such a thing because I respect Max as a driver. Not very clean driving but I avoided him."

Max Verstappen in action during the Mexico Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen was hit with two separate penalties. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

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McLaren boss Zak Brown described the latest example of Verstappen's aggressive driving as "ridiculous". He added: "Enough is enough. Let's just have some good clean racing moving forwards. I think the stewards are on it, I think that's clear by the penalties that were given. The stewards did a good job this weekend."

Asked about his prospects of winning the championship, Norris said: "I'm just keeping my head down, we're doing good job as a team, focus on ourselves. That's all I can do for now."

Verstappen had won five of the last six races in Mexico, including the last three editions. However the Dutch driver has now gone 10 races in a row with victory. Sainz's win was a first for Ferrari in Mexico since 1990 and fourth of his career - his first since the Australian Grand Prix in March.

"I really wanted to win this one. I needed it for myself," said the Spaniard, who is leaving for Williams at the end of the season. "I said I wanted one more win for Ferrari and to do it here with this mega crowd is incredible."

with agencies