Oscar Piastri reveals 'stars align' hope in F1 title-decider failure

Oscar Piastri revealed that he had hoped the stars would align for him in the title-deciding Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, something which did not happen. 

Piastri entered the title-decider 16 points adrift of McLaren team-mate Lando Norris, and knowing that he had to finish in first or second and hope that Norris and Max Verstappen had bad races.

The Australian went for a different strategy had started on the hard tyres, unlike the majority of the field who began on mediums. 

Piastri overtook Norris on the opening lap but, ultimately, could not challenge Verstappen for victory at the Yas Marina Circuit.

With Verstappen winning and Norris finishing in third, it was the Briton who secured a maiden F1 drivers' title, leaving Piastri to finish the season 13 points behind. 

Having led the standings for so much of the year, it was a bitter blow for Piastri, who accepted that he maximised what was possible in the season finale.

Asked for his thoughts on the race, Piastri said: "I think, honestly, pretty good. There wasn’t anything left out there. 

"Obviously, we tried a bit of a gamble on the strategy to give ourselves some different options and hope that the stars aligned to give ourselves the best chance. 

"But ultimately, in the end, that didn’t happen. So, yeah, I think given as well I missed a practice session, it took a little bit to find my feet. 

"I think that was the maximum we could have achieved today. We didn’t have an answer for Max’s pace. So pretty happy with the weekend. Not much more we could have done."