Oscar Piastri rues 'messy' weekend as title lead takes huge cut

Oscar Piastri has rued what he judged as a "messy" Monaco weekend, with the McLaren driver's title lead having been cut to just three points.

Piastri showed good pace at the Circuit de Monaco throughout the Monaco Grand Prix, but failed to make any progress from third on the grid. 

Lando Norris winning has significantly reduced his advantage at the top of the F1 drivers' title; however, he is at least pleased to have returned to the Monaco rostrum.

"Yeah, obviously the win would have been better, but it's been a bit of a tricky weekend," said Piastri. "Practice was messy all the way through, and felt like I got into qualifying with not a lot of confidence with how the weekend was going.

"I got close, but not quite close enough. And around here, where you qualify is pretty much where you finish. 

"So pretty happy with that overall, obviously some things to look out for when we come back next year, but some more points on the board, another trip to the podium in Monaco. So not all bad. 

Piastri's weekend did not start well after crashing at Sainte Devote in second practice, although he recovered to start in third. 

Whilst he could not match Norris or Charles Leclerc, Piastri has recognised that finishing on the podium is still a positive.

"Yeah, exactly the margins are so fine," added Piastri. "And like you said, if this is a bad weekend, then it's not going too badly at all. So yeah, some things to work on. 

"We'll go again next week and try and come back stronger. But well done to Lando, had a great weekend. Well done to Charles as well, being quick as usual."