Oscar Piastri said the Dutch Grand Prix weekend was good for his own development as a driver, following a ninth-placed finish.
The rookie did not get much running prior to qualifying following a crash in FP2, while FP3 was curtailed by rain.
The McLaren driver completed 41 laps, compared to Lando Norris‘s 74, prior to qualifying, and missed out on a significant portion of dry running.
When qualifying dried from wet conditions to slick tyres, Piastri was limited with knowledge on where to find grip around the circuit compared to his competitors ,and as a result qualified 0.8s down on his teammate.
Despite the tough weekend Piastri found benefits from the setbacks, which included two comeback drives through the field to finish in the points.
“To both still have points at the end of it, considering where we were at one point in the race, I think was still a decent afternoon,” Piastri said to members of the media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “Of course there was always more. I think some other teams and some other drivers showed that they made all the right decisions.
“There was a lot of points to play for so yeah, some things to learn definitely for my personal development and I think also for the team too.”
Monza Atmosphere
This is the first Formula 1 race that Piastri will compete in, but he raced around Monza throughout the junior categories.
Famed for it’s high speed, long straights and passionate Tifosi supporters, the Italian GP is one of the most popular tracks in F1 and Piastri noted the unique feel of the place.
“I would say as a circuit it’s not as technical as some others,” Piastri added to the media, including Total-Motorsport.com. “But I think it has a very different atmosphere about it from Saturday to Sunday.
“Obviously getting the slip-stream in qualifying is important. I’ve got nightmares from my F3 days of red flags from people trying to get tows, so hopefully it’s not that bad.”
“So yeah, maybe not the most technical circuit but it’s an atmosphere I really enjoy.”
