Oscar Piastri makes Max Verstappen vow after first defeat

Oscar Piastri insists he will learn from his first defeat to Max Verstappen in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. 

Verstappen pulled off a stunning overtake on Piastri at Turn 1 to steal the lead, in a role reversal of the Saudi Arabian GP when Piastri muscled past Verstappen and went on to win after a penalty for the Dutchman.

It is the first time this season that Verstappen has come out on top in a direct fight with Piastri, as the Australian, who finished third and still leads the championship by 13 points from Lando Norris, who was second and by 22 points from Verstappen. 

Reflecting, Piastri felt the Turn 1 move was then "compounded" by failures in McLaren's strategy. 

"I thought I had it pretty under control, and it was a good move from Max," he reflected to media including RacingNews365. 

"So, yeah, I’ll learn for next time clearly. But at that point, I wasn’t overly concerned about not being in the lead. 

"But then our pace just wasn’t as strong as I expected. So that compounded the first corner.

"I definitely would have done something different. I would have braked ten metres later probably. That’s all. Live and learn.

"It's never a great day when you start first and finish third.

"I think Turn 1 was not ideal. I think in the end, our stop timing wasn't [great], and I think the race panned out differently than how we expected at the start of the first stint.

"So then the timing of the VSC and the safety car, the race was very tough from very early on. 

"You're going have tough days in the championship, and this is clearly one of them. So as long as we learn the lessons, then that’s all I can ask."