Oscar Piastri on his Singapore puncture: “Ironically, it probably helped”
Oscar Piastri believes his Singapore Grand Prix puncture actually helped him overtake Lewis Hamilton for fifth place in Sunday’s Formula 1 race. Piastri lay a lonely sixth – 20 seconds down on third-placed Hamilton and seven seconds adrift of team-mate Lando Norris – when the virtual safety car was called into action on lap 39 at the Marina Bay Street Circuit, as Lance Stroll pulled aside ...…
Oscar Piastri believes his puncture during the Singapore Grand Prix helped him overtake Lewis Hamilton for the fifth position. After the virtual safety car was deployed on lap 39 due to Lance Stroll's clutch issue, Piastri and Hamilton had a 20-second gap and 7 seconds behind Lando Norris respectively. Despite having the oldest tires of any frontrunner, Hamilton and Piastri decided to continue on worn soft rubber.
Piastri's medium tires were 15 laps younger than Hamilton's. However, Piastri suffered a slow puncture on lap 41, which forced him to make a second stop. Piastri rejoined on soft rubber and finished 37 seconds behind Hamilton. Despite the puncture, Piastri felt he had done a good job, particularly with his pace gaining on Hamilton.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella stated that the slow puncture was unusual and needed to be investigated by Pirelli. Piastri's puncture marked his 13th consecutive grand prix without a podium finish, his longest streak since his rookie season in 2023.
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