- Piastri finished fourth in Melbourne
- Teammate Lando Norris finished third
- Ricciardo’s battle continued
Oscar Piastri was on course to become the first Australian to achieve a podium finish at his home race before his McLaren team ordered him to pass team-mate Lando Norris on Sunday.
The 22-year-old was third behind the Ferraris of winner Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc on lap 29 before the team made the call, leaving Norris third.
There were boos from the patriotic crowd at Albert Park as Piastri followed the order – although the Australian was diplomatic about the incident after the checkered flag, saying Norris had outpaced him and was the faster of the two during the race.
Piastri started fifth, with Norris fourth, but managed to get past his teammate during the first round of pit stops.
Piastri was on the verge of becoming the first Australian to achieve a podium finish at his home race before McLaren made a very difficult decision
His teammate Lando Norris (right) finished a strong third behind the Ferraris of Charles Leclerc (left) and winner Carlos Sainz (second from right)
Piastri (pictured in action during the race) overtook Norris during the first round of pit stops, but was overtaken by the British star during a tough middle stint
“I would have liked to be one place higher, but no, I’m quite happy with that,” he said after the race.
‘There were just a few little things I could have done a little better in that race. I think I struggled a bit during that middle stint on the hard tyre.”
He later had a moment where he left the track at the penultimate corner and lost up to four seconds, but still finished more than 20 seconds ahead of Red Bull’s Sergio Perez in fifth place.
Fourth place was the best result achieved by an Australian at a home race.
“That must feel especially terrible at your home race,” said F1 commentator David Croft after Piastri succumbed.
“But as we have often seen with Oscar Piastri, when the team asks you to do something, he does it and he doesn’t complain.”
Daniel Ricciardo had a tough time for the third race in a row this year. He could only finish 12th, while his teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished eighth
The poor race result came after the Aussie was knocked out in the first qualifying session – and he admitted he had no idea why Tsunoda was consistently faster than him
The Melburnian received a standing ovation as he crossed the line, but the fans were far from happy when he and Norris swapped places.
“I have to tell you, that went down like a piece of cake with the crowd,” said commentator Ted Kravitz.
The other Australian in the field, Daniel Ricciardo, struggled for the third race in a row this season as he was again easily defeated by his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
The 34-year-old was in trouble after his best qualifying time was scrapped for exceeding track limits, and he could only finish 12th while Tsunoda finished eighth.
Before the race, Ricciardo admitted he couldn’t understand why he was missing so much pace compared to the Japanese star.
His latest result – after finishing 13th in Bahrain and 16th in Saudi Arabia – will certainly increase the pressure on him as he tries to put himself in line to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull.
On Saturday, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko bluntly stated that the Aussie is ‘too slow’ in races – and that impression has only become stronger after the checkered flag at Albert Park.