- Piastri came fourth in Melbourne
- His teammate Lando Norris finished third
- Ricciardo’s struggles continued
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Oscar Piastri was on course to become the first Australian to score a podium at his home grand prix before his McLaren team ordered him to let teammate Lando Norris pass 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 decision that saw Norris finish third.
Boos were heard from the patriotic crowd at Albert Park as Piastri obeyed the order, although the Australian was diplomatic about the incident after the checkered flag, saying Norris had outqualified him and was the faster of the two during the race. .
Piastri started fifth, with Norris fourth, but managed to overtake his teammate during the first round of pit stops.
Piastri came close to becoming the first Australian to achieve a podium finish at his home grand prix before McLaren made a very difficult decision.
Teammate Lando Norris (right) finished 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 intermediate stint.
“I would have loved to be one place up, but no, I’m very happy with that,” he said after the race.
‘There are some little things I could have done a little better in that race. I think I had a bit of trouble in that middle stint with 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 in a home grand prix.
“That must be especially horrible in your home race,” said F1 commentator David Croft after Piastri conceded.
“But as we have often seen with Oscar Piastri, when the team asks you to do something, he does it, he doesn’t complain.”
Daniel Ricciardo had a lot of problems for the third consecutive race this year. He could only manage 12th place, as his teammate Yuki Tsunoda placed eighth.
The poor race result came after the Australian was eliminated in the first qualifying session, and admitted he had no idea why Tsunoda has been consistently faster than him.
The Melburnian received a standing ovation when he crossed the line, but fans were less than happy when he and Norris switched places.
“I have to tell you, that fell like a cold target on the crowd,” commentator Ted Kravitz said.
The other Australian on the grid, Daniel Ricciardo, struggled for the third race in a row this season as he was once again easily beaten by his RB teammate Yuki Tsunoda.
The 34-year-old was on the ropes after having his best qualifying time erased for exceeding track limits, and could only manage 12th place, while Tsunoda was eighth.
Before the race, Ricciardo confessed that he couldn’t understand why he lacked so much pace compared to the Japanese star.
His latest result, after finishing 13th in Bahrain and 16th in Saudi Arabia, will surely increase the pressure on him as he tries to line up to replace Sergio Perez at Red Bull.
On Saturday, Red Bull’s Helmut Marko bluntly stated that the Australian is “too slow” in racing, and that impression has only been reinforced after the checkered flag at Albert Park.