Yesterday’s news, today’s chip paper
There were a few little nuggets from the paddock yesterday; as Oscar Piastri was in the main press conference, there was a glut of questions about McLaren’s Monza shuffle between he and Norris.
Piastri said: “We’ve had a lot of discussions, clarified a lot of things, and we know how we’re going to go racing going forward, which is the most important thing. So, yeah, what’s happened is done, and I’m excited to get racing here.
“I think in exactly the same scenario, then yes, I would expect it to be the same. But I think the likelihood that you’re going to have the exact same scenario is virtually impossible. Every scenario is going to look different. There was another factor that was ultimately deemed to be the reason for the swap, and I respect that decision.”
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Clive Rose / Formula 1 via Getty Images
Elsewhere, Max Verstappen recounted his experiences driving GT4 machinery at the Nurburgring Nordschleife as he set about getting hold of the requisite licence to race in the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
Despite technical issues with the second part of his permit assessment, Verstappen was indeed rubber-stamped for a full tilt at the N24.
“I had to do that race [in the ADAC ACAS Cup] in a GT4 car. Of course doing that race in a downtuned car is not the most exciting thing to drive, but on the other hand you still learn a lot like that.
“Luckily it rained a bit, it was dry, so I got more experience on the track, dealing with traffic as a slower car. Not always the easiest. The rest, I mean, just staying out of trouble really. But at the end of the day, I think any kind of lap that you drive around there, in any kind of car, is always fun.”
#980 Lionspeed GP, Porsche Cayman GT4 – Max Verstappen
Photo by: Jan Brucke/VLN
