Oscar Piastri has denied that McLaren's strategic error in the Qatar Grand Prix was a "catastrophe", although conceded that he was "hurt" by losing the victory.
Piastri dominated the Qatar GP and secured pole position, before leading the opening stages with ease. However, on the seventh lap after Nico Hulkenberg crashed, McLaren decided against pitting both of its drivers during a safety car.
Every other driver pitted, completing the first of their two pit stops in what was a race where no tyre set could complete more than 25 laps.
It meant that Piastri lost the race lead after both of his pit stops, with him, ultimately, finishing in a distant second behind Max Verstappen.
McLaren apologised for the mistake which cost the Australian victory and severely hurt his chances in the drivers' title fight.
Asked when he realised the win was going to slip away, Piastri said: "Yeah. When I got told that everyone has pitted except for me, Lando, and Ocon, and then Ocon pitted the next lap, I knew we were in some trouble.
"So, yeah, I think clearly some things to review. But, yeah, I don't have any answers at the moment."
McLaren's costly mistake has caused Piastri to enter this weekend's season-ending Abu Dhabi GP 16 points adrift of Norris, whilst Verstappen is only 12 points behind the championship leader.
After several poor grands prix, Qatar was finally Piastri back to his best, causing him pain by having the victory taken from him for a reason entirely out of his control.
Addressing McLaren's error, Piastri said: "I don't think… It's certainly not a catastrophe. I think we made a wrong decision. I think that's clear, but it’s not like the world ended.
"So, obviously, it hurts at the moment, but with time, things will get better. There’s been lots of difficult moments—this year, previous seasons together—and I feel like you always become stronger through some of these moments.
"But it all depends on how you deal with it. So I’m sure we’ll get through it. But, yeah, obviously, at the moment, it does hurt."
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