Oscar Piastri has defiantly explained his actions at Turn 1 during the United States GP Sprint which ultimately led to the DNF of both McLarens.
From third on the Sprint grid, Piastri initially drew alongside team-mate and title rival Lando Norris, and attempted to perform the switchback manoeuvre on the Briton exiting Turn 1 to get better traction and out-drag him down the hill.
However, as Piastri cut back, he collided with Nico Hulkenberg's Stake, with the McLaren being tipped into the sister MCL39 of Norris, with both being eliminated, along with Fernando Alonso's Aston Martin.
Max Verstappen, who was 63 points behind Piastri won the Sprint to reduce the deficit to 55 points, and then went onto claim grand prix pole position with Norris second but with Piastri a lowly sixth.
If the drivers were to finish in those positions in the race, Verstappen would be 38 points behind Piastri, and Norris just 12 with 141 left on the board.
Reflecting on the Turn 1 chaos in the Sprint, the championship leader went out to bat for his actions.
When asked by RacingNews365 for his thoughts on the incident and prompted that some pundits had placed the blame on him for triggering the incident, Piastri remained defiant.
"For me, it is a racing incident," he said.
"I was a long way from the apex, and I think the cars behind were going pretty deep into the corner, so could I have done something different? Maybe, yes.
"But that different thing would have been to potentially let two or three cars go by.
"I just can't drive around the outside of the track and let everyone use up all the space, so I think [calling] it a racing incident is fair."
When then asked how he would navigate the start of the main grand prix from sixth after a poor qualifying, Piastri detailed his plan.
"I've started in that position before my career, but I'll just try to do what I do every time," he added.
"That is, take the opportunities which are there, assess the risks that are there and ultimately just try to do my best, that is all I can do."
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