Oscar Piastri admits to crucial mistake in Max Verstappen overtake

Oscar Piastri has conceded he "braked too early" in the decisive overtake Max Verstappen made on the opening lap of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

From pole, Piastri defended the inside line, but left the door open for Verstappen around the outside, with the Red Bull diving around the McLaren to steal the lead. 

This proved crucial as Piastri then tried to undercut Verstappen, but was placed back in traffic, with the clean air allowing Verstappen to nurse his tyres, until a virtual safety car for Esteban Ocon's stricken Haas allowed a free-stop for the Dutchman. 

Another safety car period for Kimi Antonelli's Mercedes was seen through, with Verstappen winning the race as Lando Norris barged past Piastri at Turn 1, with the Australian third, as Norris cut his championship lead to 13 points.

But the Verstappen move at the start was the key, Piastri felt. 

"Yeah, I just braked too early, and it was a good move by Max as well," Piastri explained. 

"It is disappointing, but we made a few wrong calls anyway, so it is not the best Sunday, and there are definitely a lot of things to look at and review. 

"It was a good move from Max but they also had the pace today, so we'll look back and that one and see what we can do differently."

When questioned about the safety cars which impacted his race, Piastri felt both Verstappen and Norris had benefited. 

“The VSC was perfectly timed for Max and Lando, and I had used my tyres at that point, so it made the last restart pretty tricky, and I  tried my best to hang onto second, but I didn't have enough grip."