P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Oscar Piastri finished second in the Abu Dhabi season finale, but ended the year third in the drivers’ championship.
Oscar Piastri expressed his disappointment when the circumstances didn’t work in his favor during the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the race that would decide the championship title. Piastri was 16 points behind his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris and had to finish first or second while hoping for bad races from Norris and Max Verstappen. He opted for a different strategy by starting on hard tires, contrary to the majority who chose mediums. Piastri managed to overtake Norris on the first lap but couldn’t challenge Verstappen, who went on to win the race. As a result, Norris secured the F1 drivers’ title, leaving Piastri 13 points behind. Despite the bitter disappointment of missing out on the title after leading for much of the season, Piastri acknowledged that he had given his all in the season finale and had no regrets about his performance. Reflecting on the race, Piastri mentioned that they took a gamble with the strategy, hoping for the best outcome, but admitted that they didn’t have an answer for Verstappen’s pace and that they had achieved the maximum they could that weekend.
