Oscar Piastri details 'frustration' after 'expected' Max Verstappen defeat

Oscar Piastri detailed a "frustrating" 15 laps sat behind Max Verstappen in the Belgian Grand Prix Sprint, following an 'expected' defeat to the four-time world champion. 

Piastri made an excellent launch from pole, but was overtaken by Verstappen on the run into Les Combes on the opening lap in his low downforce Red Bull. 

The championship leader sat within one-second of the Dutchman for the entire sprint, but failed to make a move for the win. Piastri settled for second, ahead of Lando Norris in third. 

As a result, his lead in the F1 drivers' title increased to nine points, although would have been slightly more if an overtake on Verstappen was completed.

Asked if the first lap went as expected, Piastri replied: "Pretty much, yeah. I tried my best to just snake my way through the straights and not give too much of a tow. 

"But no, I just didn't have enough straight line speed. And then obviously, yeah, didn't have enough straight line speed for the next 15 laps either. So, still good a result, still good points. 

"It is only the sprint, the main points come tomorrow, so no, pretty happy with it, but just obviously a bit frustrating I couldn't get past."

To catch Verstappen on the straights, a thinner rear wing is required on Piastri's MCL39; however, it is not ideal in wet weather. 

It causes a conundrum for the Woking-based outfit, as heavy rain is expected on Sunday for the grand prix.

Discussing if the weather impacts possible rear wing changes, Piastri said: "It's a great question. The weather is looking pretty, pretty bad for tomorrow, which obviously means you probably don't want to take off too much wing. 

"But I don't really want to repeat the sprint we've just had. So yeah, we'll have a look and see what we can do. But yeah, there's a lot of things to look into before tomorrow."